Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and his counterpart from Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, have held a joint security meeting.
The maiden security meeting held on Wednesday, was organised in order to find lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the two states.
The meeting took place in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Saga Gist recalls that the two states and other states in the south-west region had been witnessing cases of kidnapping, armed robberies and other attacks.
The recent cases of kidnapping were reported to have occurred at Onigaari along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and other border villages between Oyo and Ogun States.
The two governors have, however, held a meeting to put a stop to the menace.
The two governors, who were elected on the platforms of two political parties, shunned their party affiliations to attend to the needs of their people.
Makinde was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while Abiodun was elected on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2019.
Makinde, while speaking at the meeting, vowed to work hand-in-hand with Abiodun in order to end banditry and kidnapping in boundaries shared by the two states.
Makinde maintained that the two states decided to initiate the collaborative efforts because of the growing rate of crimes such as kidnapping and banditry.
He said, “We came here to initiate a collaborative effort between our two states because it is the right thing to do and absolutely important we do it. In recent times, we have seen cases of kidnapping.
“So, if it is not a big concern to the leadership of the two states, then, we won’t be here also with our service commanders because we have a lot to do.
“My brother and I have an absolute commitment to the security of lives and property within the two states.
“We have experiences across the states and what this meeting will do for us is to be able to share these experiences and look at those decisions we can take jointly to improve the security situation in our states.”
The two governors at the end of the meeting resolved to tackle insecurity challenges including crimes such as kidnapping, banditry, fraud and ritual killings.
The duo also agreed to set up a Joint Border Security Task Force with membership drawn from various security agencies in the two states.
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