Fear grips communities of four local government areas in Akoko, Ondo State following the flowing in of some groups suspected to be members of the Boko Haram.

Akoko is the boundary that connect Ondo State to the northern part of the country. It was learnt that a commercial driver alerted the military about the strange movement of some passengers at Oke-Agbe-Akoko in Akoko Northwest Local Government Area.

The passengers, who were suspected to be insurgents from Chad, were arrested by soldiers, Following the tips by the members of the four communities, this however prompt residents and others to organise a one-day interactive session with representatives of security agencies.

The forum which was held near a military check-point in Ikare-Akoko, was attended by prominent indigenes of the area, including the caretaker chairmen of the four local governments, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and a lawmaker representing Akoko South East/West Federal Constituency, Babatunde Kolawole.

Others were Dr. Olu Agunloye, former Commissioner for Youths and Sports Alhaji Yekini Olanipekun and the Ondo State Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Mr. Rotimi Rahman. Representatives of security agencies, including Army, Police, Directorate of State Services (DSS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), were led to the meeting by the Commanding Officer of the Army in the area, Lt.-Col. Wo Ubi.

Security issues was the main discussion at the forum. They said Akoko, which comprises of 40 communities, serves as a link for travellers coming from the North to the Southwest, the gathering however urged the security chiefs to mount more checkpoints, where those entering the communities would be properly scrutinised.

While speaking during the forum, Hon. Kolawole lauded the effort of the people for being proactive, saying President Muhammadu Buhari is taking positive steps to eradicate the activities of the Boko Haram.

The lawmaker, however said the security operatives needed to work with the residents of Akoko and Ondo state in order to identify any strange moves around them.

While reacting to the Hon. Kolawole’s advice, Lt.-Col. Ubi said for security operatives to tackle the matter, they needed the support of the residents for information.

He praised the driver, who, according to him, “quickly alerted the military about the activities of his passengers at Oke-Agbe-Akoko”.

 “If not for the drivers, we won’t know that the passengers were Boko Haram members and they were Chadians. We arrested them and took them to our command where necessary information was gathered from them.”

He promised to inform his superior officers about the demands of the people, particularly additional military checkpoints on all the roads.