Police Public Relations Officer in Oyo State, Superintendent of Police, Olabisi Okuwobi-Obanafor, has called on citizens to help the Force in tackling crime by being vigilant as policemen cannot be every where, every time.
“It is not possible for the Police to be everywhere, almost at every time. So we need other people like members of the public to be our eyes, our ears and that’s why we talk of community policing.”
While speaking on Channels Television, she further explained that the building where the heinous acts were perpetuated was hidden and would not have raised the suspicion of people as it was isolated from other buildings in the area by a canal.
Describing the incident as “unfortunate, particularly because the den was situated in the city centre, the PPRO said the Police should have been informed of the site, since there were houses around the den.
“Police are like fishermen”, she said, maintaining that “there’s no fisherman that can catch all the fishes in the ocean because it is not possible for the fisherman to see everything.”
Human skeletons, decomposing bodies, body parts had been discovered at an abandoned building in Oluyole, Ibadan. Bodies were believed to have belonged to unfortunate victims of ritual killings. While about seven people were rescued from the den.
Special Adviser, Public Affairs to the Oyo State government, Toye Arulogun, explained the State government’s involvement concerning the ownership of the property in question saying “Every land in the State is owned by government, and that particular area (is under the purview) of Ibadan Local Government Properties, who government has given the Certificate of Occupancy, has a duty to lease such to people who are willing.”
He disclosed that the building had been leased to a private company in 1988 and that the Government had revoked the lease license, following the discovery of human parts.
Special Adviser, Environment and Habitat, to the Governor of Oyo State, Yomi Oke, who was also a guest on the programme, debunked claims that the administrator had obtained a document form the Ministry of Environment giving him leave to operate a place to take care of mentally-ill people.
