Some days ago, the Oyo State Police Command arraigned a few accomplices of Mukaila Lamidi erstwhile Chairman of the Oyo State Park Management system before a Magistrate Court sitting in Ibadan.
The said accomplices have been remanded in Prison custody while the matter was adjourned to a later date due to the issue of jurisdiction raised by defense Counsels.
The step by the Police Command to arraign about eight of the suspects earlier arrested in relation to the allegations of illegal possession of firearms and other criminal allegations against Mukaila and other associates is commendable but it is not enough.
Like I earlier observed, the trail to bring Auxiliary and others still at large is getting colder by the day.
The Police Command owes Oyo State citizens the duty to explain details of Its investigations and findings from time to time.
How did the Command arrive at the number arraigned as against the over seventy earlier paraded?
Issues of security are matters for public concerns and the public deserves to know exactly how the Police are going about it.
I agree that sometimes, when Security issues are being discussed, there are always classified information.
I am also however aware that final results of investigations that are conclusive enough to culpability and otherwise are no longer classified.
Since the next stage will be to free those adjudged to inculpable and to prosecute those adjudged to be culpable, it has become a public issue and the public deserves to know some details.
The most worrisome is that the Command is silent on whatever efforts Its putting in place to arrest the principal culprit in this matter.
I had earlier voiced my concerns in relation to the trivializing of the matter by some individuals who are close to the Governor.
There have been videos of some “friends” of the Governor asking Auxiliary to go and beg some “godmothers and godfathers” of the Governor!
I hope and seriously so that a matter of such magnitudes have not been resolved through some funny begging?
This is not a family and must not be treated as such.
Both Governor Makinde and the Oyo Police Command owe the citizens of Oyo State a high level of seriousness and commitment to see that Auxiliary and whoever is involved in amassing the quantum of firearms displayed by the Police is brought to book.
This is not a matter that will end under a carpet.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
