Engaging religious, community leaders in fighting crimes is best option, says police chieftain
The Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of South-West, Sylvester Alabi, has identified importance of religious and community leaders as one of the best options to curb kidnapping and other crimes in the zone.
Penpushing reports that Alabi noted this while addressing the officers of the Ondo State Police Command in Akure, Ondo State Capital, adding that there was also need for professionalism among police officers to completely eradicate the menace.
The police boss emphasized that the time had come for police officers to engage community and religious leaders to tackle criminality in the society, explaining that his visitation was on the directive of the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to all the zonal Deputy Inspector General of Police to assess security situations in their respective zones.
Penpushing further reports that Alabi, however, pointed out that fighting crime in the South-West had yielded positive results, adding that there was the need to do more, and called on the officers to go back to the drawing board and re-strategise
“When something happens unexpectedly, it is the duty of the officer to go back to the drawing board and re-strategise. Policing is not a tea party, it is a very serious, tedious, physical and mentally challenging job. So, it’s 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.
Penpushing also reports that he observed that the South-West remained one of the most peaceful zones in the country today, however, warned the officers not to be carried away in order not to get embarrassed.
“So, it’s time for you to double your efforts and ensure the pockets of occasional kidnapping and armed robbery being experienced becomes a thing of the past. We need to sit down and do serious planning to completely eradicate any incident of kidnapping in Ondo State’, he said.
Penpushing reports that the visiting Deputy Inspector General equally called on police officers to imbibe the ethics of the job, emphasizing that corruption and extortion would not be condoned, adding that they can do their work diligently without engaging in unethical behaviour.
“As police officers, you can do your job and earn a good job without delving into all those unprofessional and unethical conducts. I am admonishing you to desist from that. It is better for you to 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 them’, he said.
Penpushing further reports that the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 17, Abiodun Asabi in his own remarks assured the Deputy Inspector General that the zone would continue to fall in line with the agenda of the Inspector General of Police.
“We are not going to rest on the 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’, the Assistant Inspector General assured.
Penpushing also reports that the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, Abayomi Oladipo, said the command had mapped out plans to ensure that the state was devoid of actions that could heat up the polity ahead of the November 16, 2024 Governorship election in the state.
The Commissioner disclosed that he had a meeting with political stakeholders and all relevant organisations involved in electoral activities, and called on politicians to warn their supporters against causing chaos in the state.
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