- As the Senator Described the Attack as Evil, Barbaric and Unfortunate
From Bola Ogunlayi, Ibadan
Capitalising on the Endsars actions, hoodlums have invaded the Ring Road, Ibadan residence of (APC) serving Senator, Teslim Folarin and made away with some empowerment equipment meant for the constituents. The Oyo state born senator has described the incident as evil, barbaric and unfortunate.
Seven suspects have been arrested in connection with the looting by officers of the Oyo State Security Outfit, code named Operation Burst.
It was gathered from scene of the incident said some residents of the area alerted officers of the security outfit who swiftly moved to the scene.
Most of the equipment had been looted before the arrival of the securitymen while seven of them, identified by the residents were arrested at the scene, it was learnt.
Elder brother of the lawmaker, Yinka Folarin who spoke with Journalists confirmed the development adding that the materials were meant for 11 Local Government areas of the state.
He added that the empowerment programme was postponed due to the state of the nation and has been scheduled for November 6th before the unfortunate incident.
As at the time of this report, people were seen taking inventory of what had been carted away while all the suspects have been moved out of the scene of the incident.
The development continued to be discussed in hush tones as people out of fear, were wary of security informants.
In his response, Senator Folarin condemned invasion of his Oluyole residence in Ibadan by coordinated hoodlums.
Pictures and video clips circulating across social media showed that citizens, led by some hoodlums, burgled the lawmaker’s house and looted over N200 million worth of empowerment materials.
Folarin, in a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Comrade YSO Olaniyi, described the attack as “evil, barbaric and unfortunate”.
The statement read in part:
“The perpetrators of the invasion and looting were not #ENDSARS protesters but coordinated hoodlums. They even broke down doors to rooms in the house to steal valuable assets. It was a pure daylight robbery”.
“The actions of the hoodlums are condemnable and it is very disheartening that some bad elements in our society are hiding under the guise of #ENDSARS protests to loot and disrupt peaceful atmosphere in Nigeria”
“I thank God we did not record any fatality, despite the violent invasion of my Oluyole house, looted materials and vandalisation therein”
“For the sake of clarification, I have just formally taken receipt of the empowerment materials from a federal agency coordinating constituency projects for federal lawmakers. Also, I used my personal money to procure additional materials. I took stock of the materials ahead of a mega empowerment programme scheduled to hold in November 2020″.
“Apart from the mega empowerment programme, I plan to commission projects spread across Oyo Central Senatorial District. Looted materials included over 350 motorcycles, 400 deep freezers, 350 generators, grinding machines, sewing machines, hairdressing and barbing salon materials, vulcanising machines and many more”.
“As a leader and people’s representative, I have never and will never take our people for granted. Let it be noted that at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, I was the first political officer holder in Oyo State to support war against the deadly novel virus. On four occasions and on personal expenses, I did not only sponsor enlightenment programmes but also distributed palliatives to my constituents in Oyo Central Senatorial District. In fact, I extended my widow’s mite to thousands of our vulnerable citizens in Oyo South Senatorial district. Some weeks ago, I reached out to few private school teachers who were affected by economic hardships, occasioned by the pandemic”.
“I sincerely commend the civil and professional conducts of security personnel drafted to my house. They were tactical in their operations as no harm was done to few people that were arrested with looted materials”.
“For whatever that happened, I shall not be discouraged to continue to give excellent service delivery to the people of my district, Oyo State and Nigeria at large.”
“I solemnly appreciate the supports and sympathies of media houses, prominent Nigerians in Oyo State and across Nigeria, traditional rulers, religious leaders, groups and chieftains of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)”.
Oloye Folarin concluded his statement by advising the Oyo State Government to strengthen the state’s security architecture in order guide against similar occurrences.
