…As FRSC says 262 die in Accident in Ogun, within 8 months***

The Ondo State Government on Thursday said it would launch ‘Operation Amotekun’ to curb the security challenges in the South West Zone.

‘Amotekun’ is the Yoruba word for leopard.

Mr. Donald Ojogo, the Commissioner for Information, told newsmen in Akure that the exercise was an all encompassing security initiative.

“In a matter of weeks, this security outfit will be unveiled and the spate of insecurity being witnessed in the last three or four months would have been reduced to the barest minimum.

“The governor, who is also the chairman, Southwest Governors Forum, has taken some far reaching measures which are highly commendable.

“He is not resting on his oars.

“The people can be assured that in a matter of days, the forests of Ondo will be put under proper security surveillance through useful intelligence gathering,” he said.

Ojogo added that Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had initiated the security trust fund as one of the principal outcomes of the security summit held in the state in 2018.

The commissioner pointed out that the Lagos State version of the fund was already yielding fruitful results.

He said the initiative would empower various security agencies and stakeholders in tackling insecurity when put in place.

“It will also put in place drastic measures to checkmate violence and insecurity from escalating.

Also read:  Insecurity: Change your strategy, NUJ urges Buhari

“Not less than 120 motorcycles and 20 hilux vehicles have also been procured to aid in tackling the spate of insecurity in Ondo State and the Southwest in general,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) said on Thursday that 262 persons died in different road crashes between January and August in Ogun.

Mr Clement Oladele, Ogun FRSC Sector Commander, gave the figure in Abeokuta during the third quarter retreat of the Sector Command.

The theme of the programme was “Road Audit And Crash Investigation: A Panacea For Traffic Compliance in Ogun State.”

Oladele decried the high cases of road crashes in the state,  saying that more than 1,434 people were injured in the 530 crashes recorded in the same period.

He said violation of traffic rules by drivers was a major cause of the problem, adding that road construction and rehabilitation areas were major points of most crashes.

The Sector Commandant however said the corps was committed to drastic reduction of road crashes in the state with a view to saving lives.

“We are concerned about the problems; we noticed that most of the deaths recorded happened at construction zones.

“Because of the increase in road accidents, we are now looking at crash investigation, that is, for every crash there must be a reason behind it.

”We will investigate and look at the reasons behind it, then we wait to see how we can prevent it from happening again.

“What we want to tell members of the public is that whenever there is an accident, they should quickly inform our men for immediate response and co-operate with them to avoid traffic,” he said.

Also speaking ,the Zonal Commanding Officer of the Corps, Mr Samuel Obayemi , regretted the ”alarming ”increase in road crashes along the South-West corridor.

“The increase in crashes along our corridor is becoming so alarming and worrisome and there is need to come together to brainstorm on how we can reduce it, particularly the crashes that normally  occur on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

” We have deployed enough men to control traffic on the road to reduce crashes but what we are getting from members of the public is not encouraging,” he said.

He urged motorists to always obey traffic rules and regulations to minimise cases of road accidents.