Iseyin Shootings: Oyo State Governor to compensate victims families

The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has promised to compensate the families of those allegedly killed by the operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service in the Iseyin area of the State on Eid al-Fitr day.

Governor Makinde made  the promise on Tuesday, at the Palace of the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba (Monarch) Abdulganiyy  Salau.

He was on a campaign tour to the town, ahead of Saturday’s Local Government elections in the state.

Governor Makinde, who commiserated with the families of the deceased persons, noted that one of the reasons the incident could have happened was because the country is facing a hard time and people need to feed themselves.

He said; “I consulted the State Party Chairman, Alhaji Kunmi Mustapha, and also met about five families involved in this issue. I prayed for them and assured them that God will comfort and stay with them. I equally gave them the assurance that such occurrence will not repeat itself.

“Therefore, I will like to urge some of us to support those who lost their family members to the occurrence. In my capacity as the Governor of the state, I will give N1m each to the families involved. I also want to promise that the government will send a delegation to engage with each family to know what we can do to stabilise them and we will definitely do what is possible.”

He appealed to the people not to take laws into their hands but believe that government would always fight for them as it does not want any further cases of loss of life or destruction.

The Governor stated: “During the #EndSARS protest, we are all aware that the Police station here got burnt and we are still trying to rebuild it. So, I am saying this because I don’t want to burn our candles at both ends. Let us just accept the fact that any issue that is needed to be taken up with both Customs and Federal Authorities, we will do it.”

Crisis had broken out in Iseyin between officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and suspected smugglers, where no fewer than four persons were confirmed dead during a shootout.

While expressing confidence in the People’s Democratic Party, PDP’s victory in Saturday’s Local Government elections, Governor Makinde urged the residents to go out en-masse to vote for reliable candidates.

He noting that the PDP has put forward the candidates the people can trust who would replicate what the state government is doing in the city.

He said: “I believe you now ply the Moniya-Iseyin road. Before the end of this administration in 2023, I promise that we will construct a road (replica of Moniya-Iseyin) from Iseyin through Ogbomoso. So, if we do that in the state, the PDP candidates you want to vote for at the local government level will follow suit at the local government level.”

Makinde urged the people to work together with the state and local governments so that the development being aimed for would reach the grassroots level.

Mercy Chukwudiebere