Under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the National Association of Ogun State Students (NAOSS), students have partnered with the police, the Department of State Security, and other relevant security agencies to address security issues in the state.
Just as the State Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Alamutu, said that the establishment of a special court to handle cult-related cases by the state government would help reduce the burden on regular courts, it would also help security agencies in the fight against the menace of cultism in the state.
The commissioner, represented by Assistant Commissioner of Police Haruna Adams, attributed cultism as the root of other crimes in the state.
Speaking at the event with the theme “Economic/Political Approach to Combating Insecurity,” which also witnessed the inauguration of the new executive members of NANS and NAOSS in the state, the police chief said the command is working round the clock to ensure that the menace is nipped at the bud.
He said, “In Ogun State, we have our own issue of insecurity like other states. Here in Ogun State, the issue we are facing is cultism. Cultism is the root of every crime in this state; it is the root of armed robbery, and this issue of cultism is disturbing us seriously. These cultists graduate from cultism to armed robbery and other crimes.
“If we arrest any armed robber, most of them are graduates, and if you interrogate them, they always say they started with cultism. We are working to make sure that we reduce this menace in our society.
“Today in Ogun State, the government has come up with a court that will deal with cultism issues.
“No case will be taken to that court apart from cultism cases. The creation of this court will help us a lot to reduce issues of cultism in this state.
“We also have the issue of highway robbery, but what the command is doing is deploying a lot of patrol teams to our boundaries with Lagos State and our boundaries with other states. This has reduced the rampant cases of armed robbery along the Lagos-Ibadan motorway.”
In his remarks, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Student Matters, Azeez Adeyemi, urged security agencies to partner with students and other relevant stakeholders in combating insecurity in the state.
“The economic well-being of the people is a significant determinant of the larger security in society. An economically engaged and self-sufficient human is less vulnerable to taking options in criminal acts.
“Qualitatively educated citizens, particularly agile youths, are usually intelligent enough to interact
with their society more productively than dangerously.
“Well-trained young people are in fact very crucial in developing an economy to become more progressive as well as contributing to combating security with innovative ideas and technology.
“However, all of these economic solutions to security could be an end but they are not the means by themselves.
“Providing a suitable environment for economic well-being, providing qualitative education and training, and improving the economic prosperity of the nation, among other things, are all dependent on the opinions and suggestions of stakeholders and the final decisions of policymakers.”
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