The Osun State chapter of the Nigeria Hunters and Forest Security Service has disclosed plans to further secure, especially ungoverned spaces across the state.
A statement by the chairman of the group in the state, Ahmed Nureni, obtained in Osogbo on Wednesday said good knowledge of Osun terrain and routes leading in and out of the state, should place hunters higher in the security architecture and called for collaboration with the current administration to enhance security.
Nureni, who congratulated the state governor, Ademola Adeleke on the occasion of his 63rd birthday and the victory he got at the Supreme Court which affirmed his election, said with government support criminals seeking refuge in Osun forest would be forced to either leave the state or arrested.
According to him, possession of traditional powers passed down from older generations was also an advantage hunters have over other security groups that would be deployed to prevent criminal activities in the state.
The statement further read in parts, “As a group saddled with the security of our forest, we are ready to work with the Adeleke administration to secure the governed and especially, ungoverned spaces in the state. We have our strategies to do this but won’t disclose them.
“We will need the support of the government of the day to achieve maximum security across the state. With government support, we are very sure that criminal activities will end in our forest and communities across the state.
“We will make sure that criminal elements from neighbouring states do not enter our forest and this we will do working with the police and other security agents.”
