The governor of Ondo State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has given suspected kidnappers and other criminal elements operating in the state’s forest reserves a 14-day ultimatum to vacate the forests or face a government crackdown.
The governor said the directive was aimed at flushing out criminals using the forest reserves as hideouts and restoring security to enable legitimate economic activities to thrive.
The ultimatum was announced on Tuesday by the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Forestry, Bidemi Obayangban, in Akure.
Obayangban said the directive formed part of the state government’s renewed efforts to rid the forest reserves of criminal elements and restore peace to the affected areas.
He said the government had concluded comprehensive plans to tackle kidnapping and other criminal activities in the forests, adding that security agencies and hunters across the state were collaborating with the administration.
According to him, the state government would no longer allow criminal elements to frustrate legitimate economic activities in the forest reserves.
He said the safety of farmers, investors, timber contractors, and other legitimate operators remained central to the government’s plan to revitalize the forestry sector.
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“A vision without maximum security to ensure the safety of investors, farmers, timber contractors, and those conducting legitimate business across Ondo State’s forest reserves is effectively meaningless,” he said.
Obayangban said the administration was taking the fight directly to the criminals, adding that Governor Aiyedatiwa had adopted a discreet but action-oriented approach to the security challenge.
“The primary focus of the Aiyedatiwa administration is to flush out criminal elements from our forests and state. We are taking the battle directly to them.
“The government is fully committed to this objective and has finalized comprehensive plans to eliminate kidnapping and other illegal activities within our borders,” he said.
He subsequently announced the 14-day deadline, warning that individuals who failed to vacate the forests would face the consequences of the planned operation.
“I am using this opportunity to announce that the state government is giving these individuals 14 days to vacate Ondo State forests. Failure to comply will result in them meeting their Waterloo,” Obayangban said.
He added that securing the forests was the first phase of the government’s broader plan to restore legitimate economic activities and attract investment into the forestry sector.
Obayangban maintained that meaningful economic development could not take place in an environment where farmers, investors, and other legitimate forest users were exposed to criminal activities.