Ekiti State Government has assured the people of its readiness to put security agencies across the state on their toes to salvage the state from further bank robbery and other crime and criminality in the area.
The State Deputy Governor, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi, gave the assurance in a statement signed by Mr Odunayo Ogunmola, his Special Assistant on Media in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday.
Ogunmola said his boss made this known when he paid a condolence visit to Oye-Ekiti, to commiserate with the residents of the town over Thursday’s bloody robbery attack on UBA Bank branch in the area.
The deputy governor, who noted that two persons lost their lives in dare-devil robbery, describing the bank robbery and loss of lives as sad and unfortunate, stressing that security organisations would be more alert in securing the lives and properties of the people of the State.
He said that everything, humanly possible would be done to ensure that banks operating in any part of the state were effectively secured.
Egbeyemi, who also visited both the bank and the nearby police divisional office which was also attacked by the robbers, stressed the need for residents to be more security conscious.
He said government would continue to work round the clock in collaboration with security agencies to ensure safety of lives and investment in the state.
The Deputy Governor also called for collective efforts among the security agencies in tackling security challenges bedeviling the country.
Egbeyemi, who noted that the affected UBA was the only bank serving communities in the axis, promised that the state government would do the needful to get it back to business.
The deputy governor praised police officers on duty for repelling the robbers from gaining access to the station’s armory.
He said: “The officers on duty did well by preventing them from gaining access to their armory. The whole building is riddled with bullets and dynamites were used on it.
“The building needs a total repair to be conducive for officers to perform their duties.We will be on the alert and we will make sure that all the security agencies in the state are on the alert
“It once happened at Ise-Ekiti, Ilawe-Ekiti, Iju-Ita Ogbolu and now in Oye-Ekiti. I don’t think there is any other bank in this axis again.
That of Ifaki is no longer functional again; it was destroyed by robbers sometime ago.
“We will appeal to UBA to renovate the place; government would put more security around too.
He said the renovation became necessary as the robbed bank was the only one serving “Isan- Ekiti, Ikole-Ekiti, Oy-Ekiti and Ifaki-Ekitii axis.“
The deputy governor had earlier paid a condolence visit to the traditional ruler of the town, the Oloye of Oye-Ekiti, Oba Oluwole Ademolaju over the incident.
