Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun, has urged President Bola Tinubu and security agencies to go after those involved in financing insecurity in the country.
Oyintiloye, a member of defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), made the call while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Osogbo.
The APC chieftain said that the recent attacks on Benue and Plateau, where many innocent people were killed, was pathetic and unacceptable.
Oyintiloye, a former lawmaker, said that as long as the bandits were still having access to food and ammunitions, it would be difficult to crush them.
He, however, said once sources of supply of the basic human needs and weapons were cut off by arresting those supplying the criminals, security agencies would be able to curtail their activities.
Oyintiloye, who noted that criminals could not operate without support from certain quarters, urged security agencies to work harder to identify the suppliers of weapons, operational vehicles, hard drugs, among others to the bandits.
“The point is that to effectively combat insecurity in the country, it is important to target the individuals and entities that are bankrolling criminal activities and insurgencies.
“This, however, requires a multifaceted approach for high, including strengthening intelligence gathering and analysis, implementing robust anti-corruption measures, and fostering international cooperation to disrupt financial flows.
“And this is the area the security agencies needed to beam their search lights.
“There is no doubt that the security agencies are doing their best and the result of their efforts is glaring for all to see, but more needed to be done in exposing the sponsors of this evil act,” he said.
Oyintiloye, who noted that incessant killings of innocent Nigerians should not be allowed to continue unchallenged, said that those using the insecurity to score political points against the President should be treated as enemies of the country.
The APC chieftain who commended the President on his efforts to tackle insecurity in the last two years, urged him to allow for public prosecution of the financiers of the bandits.
According to him, arresting financiers of insurgency without addressing the issues of criminal justice by prosecuting them publicly might not yielded the needed results.
Oyintiloye expressed optimism that Nigeria will overcome its current security challenges.(NAN)
