Amid escalating political tension in Niger Republic, the Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has put Commissioners of Police, CPs along the borderlines on red alert.
The IGP stated this on Tuesday when he met with Strategic Police Managers of the Nigeria Police Force comprising members of the Force Management Team, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, Commissioners of Police, and Heads of other Tactical and Operational Units of the Force at the Goodluck Jonathan Peacekeeping Hall, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Egbetokun in his opening remarks said the primary objective of the gathering was to meticulously analyze the existing policing strategies, discern areas necessitating enhancement, and effectively address these crucial aspects.
While commenting on the political imbroglio in the Niger Republic, the IGP charged the Strategic Police Managers to ensure the “maintenance of stability along the borderlines.”
This is as he assured that the Nigeria Police Force is working in synergy with other sister agencies like Nigerian Customs to ensure effective internal security management around the border axis.
The IGP similarly disclosed the salient achievements recorded within the space of one and a half months as a result of the deployment of a series of covert and overt operations targeted at smashing criminal gangs terrorizing communities all over the country.
This has led to the arrest of a total of 986 armed robbery suspects, 390 kidnap suspects including bandits, 848 suspects of homicide, 297 suspects for possession of prohibited firearms, 517 suspects of rape, defilement and other sexual offences, 874 suspected cultists, and 5,328 suspects for various other offences.
While commending all Commands of the Force for the professional manner in which the recent protest by the citizens and the organized Labour was managed such that no single casualty was recorded while the protest lasted, and commending Nigerian citizens and the Labour leaders for conducting themselves in the most peaceful manner, the IGP emphasized that the management strategy employed will be adopted as a template for operational control of protests across the country henceforth.
He similarly warned that the “Force would not condone deliberate and unprovoked harassment, attacks, and unwarranted killings of Police Officers who have dedicated themselves to securing the lives and property of all and sundry and citizens, noting that ‘Enough is Enough.”
He added also that such an attack is tantamount to an attack on the state and would be met with commensurate and lawful force going forward.
“All State Commissioners of Police were tasked to emplace round-the-clock security at all government warehouses as well as strategic storage facilities to prevent a repeat of the incidence at Adamawa State.”
This, he assured that the “Force is poised to provide all necessary support to the Federal Government as it seeks workable solutions and succor to the present economic situation in the country, and following the recent events in the ECOWAS Sub-Region, the IGP charged the Strategic Police Managers to ensure the maintenance of stability along the borderlines.”
The IGP also urged members of the public to engage the police on suspicious individuals, groups, or activities in their communities by availing the Force with actionable intelligence, assuring the confidentiality of such processes even as the Force takes necessary steps to avert the crimes.
According to the IGP, “If you see something, endeavor to say something.”
