Agodo Killings: Hon. Adekoya Commiserates with Parents, Community.

..........Says Govt Needs to do more in protecting lives and properties

Hon. Adekoya Abdel-Majid Adesegun, lawmaker representing Ijebu North/Ijebu East/Ogun Waterside Federal Constituency has expressed shock and reget over the gory incident in Agodo community in Ogun Waterside local government where a mad man beheaded two pupils of a primary school in the community.

While commiserating with members of the community, parents of the victims and staff and students of the school, Hon. Adekoya who had also served as a local government chairman in Lagos state, lamented that this kind of incident can be avoided if government at the local government council takes its responsibility of protecting the schools under their care seriously.

According to him, "this kind of incident is preventable and avoidable if the local government administrators have been greatly alive to their responsibilities of securing the lives and properties of the people in their communities especially the primary and secondary schools.

" I served as a local government chairman before and I know that one of the responsibilities of the local government is to provide paramilitary security supports to safeguard the primary schools while the State government through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) protects the secondary schools. We use to employ ex-servicemen, legionnaires and sometimes officers of the civil defence and security service to guard and provide security back ups to most of our schools.

"From the preliminary report that I gathered over this incidence, there was no single security man on guard in the school and I was told only one male teacher in an entire school of a rural community. This is sad and unfortunate. Hon. Adekoya implore the State Government for adequate funding of the local governments for them to be able to discharge their statutory responsibilities as appropriate."

While commiserating with the people of Agodo, parents of the victims, staff and students of the school over the unfortunate incident, Hon. Adekoya prayed that Allah should grant them the fortitude to bear these sad losses, and promised that he will do all in his best to call the needed attention of relevant authorities to the security lapses in the area so as to avoid a repeat occurrence.

"I am particularly sad because barely a month ago, an articulated vehicle belonging to one of the top cement companies killed some of our students at the Itamerin Comprehensive High School, a community School of Ago-Iwoye/Oru/Awa/Ilaporu where two students and the father of one of them died on the spot, while a third student was seriously wounded with fractured legs. I am deeply worried because I know all these needless killings are avoidable. I feel pained each time I have to rise up, paying condolence visits to and commiserating with people on the death of their loved ones, especially when I know we can do much better to prevent or at least reduce some of these unfortunate incidences. Some of these sad losses indeed should not have happened in the first place."

Hon. Adekoya maintained that these rather sad and deplorable experience calls for vigilance by every member of the society as to the suspectable behaviour of any person should be promptly reported to the social workers or security agencies for necessary, urgent and timely intervention as appropriate to avoid similar future occurrence.