The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun has revealed that the state in conjunction with Oyo State have made plans to deploy drones to cover Lagos-Ibadan expressway, explaining that the drones would aid security agents to monitor and see the activities on the highway.
Abiodun who disclosed this on Tuesday when hosting management of the Leadership Newspapers in his office, Abeokuta, vowed to neutralize kidnappers abducting people on that expressway particularly on the Ogun section of the busiest highway.
According to him, “We are going beyond deployment of security teams, we are deploying drones to cover that road. These are drones that will allow us to see exactly what is happening there even before any occurrence,” the Governor stated.
He equally disclosed that the state in conjunction with its Oyo State counterpart has set up a joint security team to beef up security along the expressway and the synergy was meant to ensure that the flash points between Lagos and Oyo State are well covered by security teams.
The Governor said that over thirty patrol teams have been formed between Oyo and Ogun to tackle issues of kidnapping along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, adding that the two state governments have gone ahead and cleared both sides of the road.
“We set up a joint security team with the Oyo State Government because we found out that the majority of this incidences are right at the border between us and Oyo State, they take advantage of that area as a blind spot.
“As we speak today, I think, there are not less than thirty patrol teams on that corridor of Lagos-Ibadan expressway. These teams comprise soldiers, policemen, operatives from the DSS, men of the Civil Defence and vigilantes.
“The last thing we want is for people to travel with the fear of being kidnapped and nothing can be more terrible as we approach the Yuletide season.
“We’ve also gone ahead and cleared both sides of the road, because that element of surprise that they introduce when they just jump out of the bushes and then kidnap and run away, so, we have approached our contractors to clear 50 meters on each side so it makes it difficult for them to use the bushes to hide,” Abiodun stated.
Abiodun who was nominated as Governor of the Year of Leadership Newspaper, after conducting an independent investigation on the activities of the governor according to the Chairman of the Abuja-based Media Platform, Zainab Nda-Isaiah.
While noting that Governor Abiodun would be the first governor from the state to be so awarded since the award started 14 years ago, stated that Ogun governor in the face of extreme provocation had remained calm and focused.
The leadership of media platform added that the criteria for choosing Abiodun was to look for a serving governor whose programmes have been consequential in the lives of the community with relatively transparent public service record.
