A report by the Police has revealed that Oyo State is witnessing a steady decline in the cases of armed robberies.
In 2019 it had 182, which dropped to 123 cases in 2020, a declining percentage of 32.24, according to the police report. The report revealed that the state is on course to record a 40 to 50 per cent decline in the violent crime.
The major cause of this decline was credited to the Governor, who keeps intensifying his efforts to secure his people.
The report further labelled banditry, mostly kidnapping by invading herders, as the new form of criminality in the state.
It said 47 herders suspected of attempting a retaliation attack in Oke-Ogun/Ibarapa, were last week arrested by officers of the state security outfit, “Operation Burst”.
The document, titled ‘Armed robbery statistics from 2019 to 2020,’ said the month of May witnessed the lowest incidents of armed robbery last year with only two cases, next was June with three. The corresponding lowest statistics on record for 2019 were January and October with 10 and 12 cases respectively. February had 18 cases, and January had 16, were the highest on record for the year, while July with 24 and March with 20wase the corresponding highest for 2019.
The monthly armed robbery incident records for 2019 and 2020 are as follows:
2019: January 10, February 15, March 20, April 13, May 15, June 19, July 24, August 13, September 10, October 12, November 18 and December 13, making a total of 182.
2020: January 16, February 18, March 10, April 8, May 2, June 3, July 8, August 13, September 15, October 5, November 10 and December 15, making a total of 123.
In a statement responding to the report, the Oyo State Government said it was tackling the banditry menace head-on.
It vowed to ferociously suppress any attempt to turn the South/West into another theatre of war.
It stated: “Part of the move by Governor Makinde to tackle this is the operation launched by ‘Amotekun’ penultimate Saturday in the thick forests of Ibarapa East, Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North, as well as Iwajowa Local Government, of kidnappers and bandits.
“It was in collaboration with some native Fulanis. Some bandits were killed, while others were handed over to the Police
“The governor had, in December, raised the alarm about foreign criminals sneaking into Oyo State through Saki, while warning of their potential danger.
“It is this new form of criminality, which is being tackled, that many are talking about.
“The agenda is to turn the South/West into another theatre of war and Makinde has vowed to resist that.”
