The government of Ogun State has claimed that it has the highest number of internet fraudsters known as yahoo boys in the country, but has pledged to combat the problem.
According to Penpushing, Governor Dapo Abiodun made the revelation on Friday while speaking at the launch of ‘OP-MESA,’ a joint security outfit, explaining that the high rate was due to the state’s large number of institutions.
In light of this, the Governor stated that his administration has finalized plans to establish a state commission on crimes to supplement the work of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to Penpushing, Abiodun promised that with the establishment of the commission, the criminals would be smoked out and handed over to the proper authorities for prosecution.
Abiodun said, “Ogun state is capital of ‘yahoo yahoo’ boys. They even did award night in Abeokuta, for the best hacker. We can understand the reason for this, it is because Ogun state has the highest number of institutions in the country.
“We have decided to set up our own state commission to eliminate the cybercrime, our commission will collaborate with EFCC. We will smoke them out, hand them over to appropriate authorities.
“As a responsive and responsible Government, we cannot and will not fold our arms and watch as criminals take over our land and become an avoidable jeopardy to our joint and respective development strides.”
The inauguration of OP-MESA was further proof that the government is not taking the security of lives and property in the State for granted.
He said, “This OP–Mesa Security outfit will therefore complement the existing security outfits that we have already launched such as “the Amotekun”, Joint Security, JSS to further guarantee that we have good ambiance in Ogun State and other necessary facilities.
“It is part of a holistic approach to tackle insecurity in our State, especially in the face of a new resurgence of kidnappings on our interstate roads in the last couple of weeks.
“These unscrupulous elements have no place in Ogun State. They are security threats to us. Why should moving from one state to the other become a worrisome experience for our people? Why would the roads we are constructing and rehabilitating become a nightmare for people going about their legitimate businesses?”
