Oyo State Government Set To Demolish Torture Centre

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has called for the demolition of the torture house in Ibadan, the state capital on Tuesday, where 259 inmates were rescued.

Makinde revealed this on Tuesday during his visit to the Olore Central Mosque, in Ojoo, where the building is located.

The Oyo State Governor was present at the site with some of his aides and men of the state police command.

Recall this online medium previously reported the Commissioner of Police in the state, Shina Olukolu, had led an operation which led to the discovery of 191 men, 34 women, 11 children and 23 sick persons, who were illegally held captive, some in chains, while nine suspects, including the owner of the centre, were arrested.

Governor Makinde added that he will prosecute anybody found to be involved in such activities, he stated that it was wrong for anyone to use a mosque as a cover-up for crime and criminality.

The Oyo State Governor who went to the camp where the victims are being rehabilitated by the state government stated that it is surprising that such centres exist in an open area of the capital city.

He said, “What we have seen is something that we all have to condemn and this shouldn’t be happening in a modern environment. You can’t use a mosque as a façade to perpetrate this kind of evil.”

“Yes, we have marked the entire structure for demolition; we have here people from the state ministries of lands and urban planning, health and justice. The government will do everything that is humanly possible to ensure that this kind of thing is stamped out in our environment.”

Makinde noted that it is surprising that houses are around the centre and none of them decided to report the torture centre which could have seen the state government act a long while ago.

He pointed to parents who want to rehabilitate members of their family to take them to the government institutions which can attend to such cases.

“So, whatever is necessary, looking at the laws of our land regarding this kind of thing, we will ensure that we take this place away from those people doing this kind of thing within the ambit of the law. And also, you have the law enforcement agencies here; all those involved are going to be prosecuted to the full extent of our law.

“For the victims, we have mobilised the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion and the social welfare agencies there. First, we need to have immediate palliatives for them and then we have to look at the deeper issues and how to resettle them and reunite them with their families; we are not going to leave them alone at this point.”

Governor Makinde while speaking with the victims vowed that the state government was on top of the matter to ensure that those behind the illegal operation of the centre were prosecuted.

He added that 22 of the victims are receiving attention at the Adeoyo Hospital as a result of their critical conditions.