The Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of South-West, Sylvester Alabi, has urged police officers in the zone to imbibe the habit of engaging religious and community leaders in tackling the incessant crimes of kidnapping and armed robbery.
Mr Alabi, who noted the need for professionalism in handling criminal matters, said there was an urgent need to fight kidnapping in the Southwest part of the country.
He gave the advice at the weekend during his visit to the rank and file of the officers of the Ondo State Police Command.
Alabi said crime and criminality fighting in the Southwest has been yielding positive results, but there was a need for security agencies in the zone to collaborate and do more.
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“When something happens unexpectedly, the officer must go back to the drawing board and re-strategize. Policing is not a tea party; it is a very serious, tedious, physically and mentally challenging job.
“It’s time for you to double your efforts and ensure the pockets of occasional kidnapping and occasional armed robbery being experienced becomes a thing of the past.
“We need to sit down and do serious planning to eradicate any incident of kidnapping by engaging the religious and traditional leaders and rulers.
“Honestly, it is a job that entails total commitment and total dedication, because we owe members of the public a duty to secure their lives and properties,” he said.
According to him, his visit was on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to all the zonal DIGs to assess the security situations in their respective zones.
Mr Alabi, however, called on the officers to imbibe the ethics of the job, saying corruption and extortion would not be condoned.
“As police officers, you can do your job without delving into all those unprofessional and unethical conducts. I am admonishing you to desist from that and you will attract goodwill for yourself from well-meaning Nigerians.
“If you do your job diligently and show that you are a man of integrity, you will be loved by people and gain more confidence and trust from people,” he said.
Earlier, Abiodun Asabi, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 17, assured the DIG that the zone would continue to fall in line with the agenda of the IGP.
“We are not going to rest on accolades that our zone is the most peaceful in the country, we will continue to push our zone more to be free from any form of criminality,” he said.
In his speech, the state commissioner of police, Abayomi Oladipo, explained that the command has mapped out plans to ensure that the forthcoming election is free, fair and acceptable to the contenders.
Oladipo added that he had also held meetings with political stakeholders and all relevant organisations involved in the electoral activities of the state.
He, however, called on politicians to warn their supporters against causing chaos ahead of the November 16 poll.
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