Olelo Community in Owan East Local Government Area of Edo has rejected claims associating it with the recent spate of kidnapping incidents in the area.
The Youth Coordinator, Mr Jolly Igharo, in a statement on behalf of the community made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, said the allegations were misleading and unfairly damaging to the community’s reputation.
According to Igharo, the community’s forest has been taken advantage of by outsiders who use it as a hideout to carry out criminal activities.
He noted that indigenes of Olelo were themselves victims of the insecurity and were not involved in any way.
“There is nothing linking Olelo people to kidnapping. What is happening is that outsiders are coming into our forest to perpetrate their evil acts.
“We categorically reject this false narrative. The people of Olelo are not part of it, do not support it, and have never benefited from the criminal activities of kidnappers.
“On the contrary, we are among their greatest victims,” he said.
The community youth coordinator lamented the negative impact of kidnapping activities on the people of Olelo who are predominantly farmers.
According to him, crops now rot in fields we dare not enter. Our harvests remain inaccessible because fear has conquered our farmlands. Hunger is no longer a distant threat; it has become our daily companion.
The community reaffirmed its peaceful disposition, reiterated that it sought protection rather than stigmatisation, and appealed for swift and decisive government intervention.
He added that the community was working with security agencies and neighboring towns to ensure that the forest was no longer used as a safe haven for criminals.
The denial comes amid growing concerns over kidnapping and other violent crimes along major routes and rural areas in Owan East and parts of Edo North.
Community leaders are now calling on government and security agencies to increase surveillance and patrols around forest areas in the council to curb the activities of criminal gangs.
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