Killing of Fasoranti’s Daughter: Police in ‘total overhaul’ of security on Southern Nigeria’s highways

The Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered a “total overhaul” of the security structures on highways across southern Nigeria, in response to the killing of the daughter of a prominent Afenifere leader, a spokesperson has said.

Funke Olakunrin was shot dead Friday while travelling to Ore in Ondo State.

Police said kidnappers were responsible for the killing, while the Presidency called the attackers an “armed gang”.

Afenifere, a foremost Yoruba sociopolitical group, blamed Fulani herders.

Herdsmen have been blamed for similar attacks in parts of the country, but there is yet no evidence linking the pastoralists to Mrs Olakunri’s killing.

Suggestions of an ethnic dimension to the attack has raised concerns among Nigerians, with political leaders urging restraint and calling on security agencies to act urgently.

President Buhari said Mr Fasoranti had suffered a “great loss” and pledged “no effort would be spared” in bringing the attackers to justice.

The police said the killers “will certainly be found and made to face the full weight of the law.”

According to a statement by the police spokesperson, Frank Mba, on Saturday, the police chief ordered a total overhaul of security on South-West, South-South and South-East highways.

The statement said the Ondo police backed by special forces and investigators from the Force Criminal Investigation Department, the Intelligence Response Team and the Technical Intelligence Unit had commenced a massive manhunt for the killers.

“While condemning the heinous and barbaric crime, the IGP, as part of measures to prevent a future occurrence of such incidence, has ordered the total overhaul of security architecture on the highways straddling the Southern part of the country,” it said.

“In this vein, the Commissioners of Police in the affected States were ordered by the IGP to emplace adequate security arrangement in their areas of jurisdiction.”

The police spokesperson said the Force Headquarters has perfected plans to replicate in the southern part of the country a special security arrangement called “Operation Puff Adder” currently ongoing along the Kaduna- Abuja expressway.