The acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, on Tuesday, launched a special operation for the South East geo-political zone, code-named “Operation Restore Peace (Operation RP)”, to stem the tide of violence and criminal activities in the region.
Speaking while launching the operation, IGP Baba disclosed that the campaign was in compliance with the directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to restore peace and security in the zone.
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He added that the President’s directive was not only for the South East but also across the nation, stressing that there is urgent need to secure lives and property of residents of the country.
He said: “The Nigeria Police is determined to restore peace and order where they are threatened and protect the citizens from all forms of threats to their lives and property.
“The Operation RP in Enugu is the first in the line-up of our strategic plans to restore peace and order across the country… in the coming days, the special operation will be extended to other parts of the country to address the challenges of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery”.
Appreciating the individual and collective efforts of the South East governors in supporting the police in their efforts to restore peace and strengthen national unity, Baba expressed confidence that “the support of all the strategic stakeholders will in due course change the current narrative in the zone for good”.
In his address, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi welcomed the IGP and other senior Police officers who accompanied him to Enugu State, for the remarkable event.
The governor said the occasion could not have come at a better time than now, adding that “given the bourgeoning insecurity in the country”, expressed optimism that the exercise will herald the rejigging and re-tooling of the Internal Security Architecture in the South East geo-political zone to bring it up to speed with emerging dimensions of criminality.
“That expectation, in my judgment, seems more realizable with the reassuring presence of the Ag. Inspector-General of Police here today.”
