The six South-west state governors, traditional
rulers and prominent Yoruba leaders on Monday met in Ibadan, Oyo State, with
the Inspector-General of Police (IG), Mr. Mohammad Adamu, and other senior
officers for over five hours to address
the security challenges facing the region.
At the end of the meeting tagged: ‘South West
Geopolitical Zone Security Summit’, which was convened by the IG, the police
boss approved the deployment of special forces under a Commissioner of
Police to the six states of the Southwest
region.
Present at the meeting were Governors Seyi Makinde
of Oyo State and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State; Deputy Governors of Ogun State,
Mrs. Noimot Salako-Oyedele; Ekiti State, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi; Lagos State, Dr.
Obafemi Hamzat, and Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi.
Traditional rulers present were the Ooni of Ife,
Oba Enitan Ogunwusi; the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji; the Alake of
Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo; the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akinolu, and the
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams.
Other resolutions reached at the summit and read by
Makinde included the commitment of the South-west governors to provide serviceable
vehicles to the police, which would be launched very soon in all the states;
pledge by traditional rulers to join hands with the police to tackle insecurity
as well as the commitment of the Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC) to collaborate
with the police in fighting crime.
Other resolutions were to strengthen the deployment
of CCTV to all flash points in the region; recruitment of Community Police
Officers (CPOs) within the communities in the six states and the setting up of
a committee made up of policemen, OPC, Miyyeti Allah in each of state of the
region.
Makinde in his welcome address assured the meeting of
the commitment of his administration to tackle the problem of insecurity in the
state, noting that the first duty of any responsible government to ensure the
safety of lives and property of its people.
According to him, "It will be recalled that as
a result of the deteriorating state of security in the Southwest and the
country at large, on June 25, 2019, in this same city (Ibadan), the Development
Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN Commission) held a similar summit. The IG was represented
at the event.
"There was a consensus that measures to be put
in place to address insecurity in the geopolitical zone should be based on a
regional approach. In furtherance of this noble and lofty ideal, a holistic
framework for security of the region is being put up by the DAWN commission.
"Let me at this stage announce that in Oyo
State, in the next few days, we shall unveil a security roadmap focused on the
following: Improvement on security infrastructure; awakening the security
consciousness of our people; and encouraging robust partnership of non-state
actors such as the traditional institutions, volunteers, and other well-meaning
residents of the state.
"Others are application of technology in fighting
crimes and criminalities; collaboration with development partners, especially
in the areas of capacity building for our security personnel and others; promotion
of effective synergy among security agencies deployed to the state; ensuring
effective oversight of the security agencies to curb excesses, especially in
the areas of corruption and trampling on the fundamental rights of our people;
ensuring the judicious use of assets of the state assigned to the security agencies,
and ensuring the sustenance of the afore-mentioned measures as well as periodic
review of the measures to meet the dynamic nature of the society.”
He added that "the overall objective of our
intervention is to ensure safety and security of our people, reduce the fear of
crimes as well as ensure that all residents of Oyo State and investors can go
about their lawful endeavour without let or hindrance.
"We are not oblivious of our obligations under
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that ‘the security and
welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government’, and we
consider this sacrosanct.
“Let me therefore state categorically that we will
do whatever is necessary to protect the lives and property of our people in the
state within the ambits of the law.
"The Inspector-General of Police, as we
patiently wait for you to discuss the issues and unveil the strategies to be
engaged in addressing the deteriorating state of security in the South-west zone,
we are hopeful that the measures will meet the much anticipated yearning of our
people, which is a safe and secure region.
"We assure you of the support of our people.
The government of the zone will provide the enabling environment to
operationalise the security initiatives being unveiled. We are committed to a
safe and secure Southwest and Nigeria at large.”
The IG, in his address, while insisted on building
consensus in condemning any act of criminality and resolving to work with the
police towards identifying, isolating and bringing the criminal elements within
the communities to deserved justice regardless of their status, background,
creed or gender rather than engaged in ethnic profiling, announced that no
fewer than 2,015 armed robbers and 1,154 kidnappers have been arrested this
year.
Adamu also said 1,183 suspected cultists have been
also arrested in the country, assuring the region that the Nigerian Police
Force has succeeded in stabilising the level of insecurity in the country but
need to do more.
The police boss, who gave the breakdown of the
arrest in the Southwest, said: "Generally speaking, the security situation
across the country has been stabilised. However, there are isolated cases of
kidnapping and armed robbery in the Southwest, particularly, along
Benin-Ore-Lagos highway and Ondo State."
According to him, "The reality is that the
current concerted operations of the police and other security agencies across
the country, particularly along the Niger-Kogi-FCT-Kaduna-Kastina and Zamfara
areas have engendered a dispersal and relocation of some of the criminals to
new areas, including the South-west region.
"In response to this emerging trend, we have
been evaluating and reevaluating our operational strategies while straightening
our institutional capacity in relation to the generation of actionable
intelligence and the conduct of special operations directed at proactively
responding to criminal situations across the country.
"I am delighted to note that 'operation puff
adder' which we launched as a strategy to stabilise the security profile in the
country and other strategies that we have emplaced since January 2019 have so
far been a success story. In consequence, between January and August 2019, a
total of 552 murder suspects were arrested with 66 such arrests effected in the
Southwest. Similarly, 2,015 armed robbery suspects were arrested with 363 of
those arrested in the Southwest, while 1,154 kidnapping suspects were also
apprehended in various operations. 147 of these were arrested in the Southwest.”
Governor Oyetola of Osun State and the deputy
governors in their separate speeches reaffirmed their support for the South-west
security network and the use of technology to fish out criminals not only in
the region but all over the country.
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