Muyiwa Adejobi, the Nigeria Police Force spokesperson, says that the recent kidnappings and killings in Ekiti state are not a common occurrence, pointing out that insecurity has never been on the rise in the state.
The police chief attributed the recent increase in kidnappings to issues regarding the terrain and topography of the state, stating that the state is surrounded by rocks.
Mr Adejobi said this on Thursday while appearing on Channels Tv Politics Today programme, where he spoke on issues affecting the country’s security.
He said, “In most cases, it is the topography of some of these areas. Take Bwari, for instance. Even in Lagos, the kidnapping there; take a look at the waterways. People don’t know that the waters from Lagos lead to Delta, Bayelsa, and Port Harcourt.”
Speaking on issues affecting Ekiti, Mr Adejobi said, “As for Ekiti, it is a forest. Forget about what you read on social media; the reality is it is not so. It is just an isolated case, and it is not as if it happens on a daily basis.
“We have cases that are isolated, but when you read them on social media, you would think it is not what we have on social media.
“So we don’t have that incident of kidnapping on the rise in Ekiti or anywhere in the southwestern part of the country.”
In the past month, some parts of Nigeria have experienced high cases of kidnapping-for-ransom by unidentified armed individuals, especially in Abuja and Ekiti.
Two monarchs, the Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsola, were killed on Monday while returning from a security meeting.
Also, six sisters from the Al-Kadriyar family were recently abducted by bandits in the Bwari area of Abuja. One of them, Nabeeha, was murdered on Sunday by the abductors, who claimed to have done so as a warning to the family for failing to pay the N60 million ransom.
However, the girls were later released.