Hon. Gbenga Opaleye, Chairman of Ibadan Southwest Local Government Area of Oyo state, on Tuesday declared that the council has begun clampdown on Indian hemp joints within the communities notorious for violence within the council area while announcing that his council will build three Police Posts in the troubled communities.
Opaleye spoke with newsmen shortly after holding a security meeting with some community leaders and vigilante groups from across the council area in connection with the violence that erupted in Oke-Ado area of Ibadan on Monday.
He identified the rising number of Indian hemp joints within the council area as the major cause of incessant violence in area, insisting that members of the notorious gangs terrorizing the areas usually foment trouble after taking the hard drug.
The Oyo state police command reportedly arrested 46 people in connection with the violence, during which one person was killed and several others seriously injured by the rampaging hoodlums.
Addressing journalists, the Council chairman lamented that it was unfortunate that over 100 Indian hemp joints have been discovered within the affected areas.
Opaleye maintained further that the council authority has also been alerted that most of the women selling local gin (paraga) in the affected communities are Indian hemp peddlers.
The Council Chairman, however, added that with the help of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the council area has begun clampdown on Indian hemp joints.
He added that apart this, the council authority decided to build the three different police posts within the troubled communities, as part of efforts to curb the alarming rate of violence.
Opaleye, however, exonerated members of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) from the Monday violence, saying it was s clash between members of a gang from Oke-Ado and another from Foko area of Ibadan.
Packaged by Gbenga Abegunrin
