National leader of the All Progressive Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday, paid condolence visit to Pa Rueben Fasoranti over the killing of Mrs Funke Olakunri, the daughter of the elder statesman.
Tinubu warned against stigmatizing herdsmen in the country. He advised against using the incident to divide the country.
Recall that the family of the Yoruba leader and the Pan Yoruba Socio- Political group, Afenifere have insisted that the 58 year old mother of two was shot dead by Fulani herdsmen who had attempted to kidnap her and other three occupants in the Black Land cruiser Jeep marked LAGOS AAA 147 FM.
Tinubu who was accompanied by a former Osun State governor, Bisi Akande said this when he visited Pa Fasoranti to console him over the killing of her second daughter by suspected Fulani Herdsmen along Benin/ Ore/ Sagamu expressway. Speaking with newsmen after a close-door meeting with Pa Fasoranti, Tinubu when asked the identities of the killers said” We must not use this incident to divide ourselves but we must use it as a cure to the security problem. “I am extremely concerned about security, I don’t want a stigma, I can go through history of kidnapping in Nigeria and we know how and where it all started, there are a lot of copycats. “How many years ago have we face the insecurity in the country? There are cases of kidnapping, is Evans too who was arrested and made disclosures also a herdsman?. “I don’t want to be political, but I will ask where are the cows? “I am a nationalist and the security concern and challenge right now must be faced squarely throughout Nigeria.
“The incident that affected one member of our family Mrs Olakunri is seriously sad and unacceptable but nobody can return her alive, she has answered the call of her creator. “We must not use this incident to divide ourselves but we must use it as a cure to the security problem “Additional police, additional patrol, and additional security reinforcement along Ore road and various flash points across the country are necessary and I have discussed this among the various authorities. The Ondo state governor is eminently aware and being proactive about this. “The security challenges are numerous across this country and to fight it we are going through that, more police are being recruited and it takes time to train and deploy them to various areas, nobody prepares more than necessary for this. “But if you look at Zamfara, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and all areas, then we need to fight poverty, unemployment and the causes that might lead people to crying. “Equally we must create opportunity to convert this tragedy to prosperity. Funke is very close to me and she died a premature death. Only four or five days ago, we chatted and I know what she discussed with me and about Baba’s health conditions. “We just pray that this will not happen again”.
This is coming as the Police authorities and the family of the Yorubas leader disagreed that it was a robbery case and not that of Fulani herdsmen. While the state Police commissioner Udie Adie insisted that those who killed Olakunrin “at Ore expressway on her way back to Lagos were bandits and not herdsmen. Adie said “All we know is that these are bandits that came to the road and started firing sporadically at motorists that were driving on the highway. “That is what it is, there is no person that can say specifically that they were herdsmen. What we know is that they are bandits and we are going after them.”
Speaking with newsmen at the ljapo residence of the Yoruba leader, his son Kehinde Fasoranti disagreed with the police chief. Kehinde, a Pharmacist who is a younger brother of the deceased accused the police chief of lying regarding the identity of the attackers. Kehinde told newsmen that he visited “the police station in Ore town shortly after the incident and was told by officers on duty that those who operated and shot Mrs. Olakunrin were Fulani herdsmen. “We need to get the story straight. The way they operated, according to what the police said in Ore, is the way Fulani herdsmen operate.
“Six people were in front shooting at them. The driver put the car in reverse but unknown to him, some men were in the bush and started shooting from the side and at the back. “The story that these are just bandits is a lie. If you want records, request the report I made at the Ore police station. They categorically said the attackers were Fulani herdsmen. “It’s about time we stood up and fight back. Nobody is protecting us. Eventually, they will come inside the house and kidnap people. Fasoranti declared
“Enough is enough. We can’t continue like this. I want the police to retract what they said. They (attackers) are Fulani herdsmen”.
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