Ogun CP, Bankole, Visits Sango-Otta Area Command, Harps on Synergy Between Police, Security Stakeholders
By Felix Mordi
As part of efforts to ensure a perfect community policing in Ogun State, the state Commissioner of Police (CP), Lanre Bankole, has charged divisional police officers (DPOs) to maximally synergize with all security stakeholders in their respective areas of jurisdictions to achieve maximum service delivery.
The CP, during his familiarization visit to Sang-Otta Area Command, Wednesday, December 8, 2021, noted that, truly the police is understaffed, but argued that, with the zeal with which sister agencies and other stakeholders like vigilance groups, hunters, Amotekun, and the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) were rallying round the Police, to ensure adequate security of their various communities, there was no basis to harp on inadequate personnel.
He said, with all these volunteers, it behoved on each divisional police officer to make a very good use of their services to deliver.
According to him, “I know that there are challenges in terms of personnel and logistics. These challenges can easily be overcome, if we all come together. For instance, if Otta Division has 100 men, and we require 300, or more, to effectively police this area, with all these men in black, brown and green (talking about various uniformed personnel like the So-Safe Corps, Vigilante Group of Nigeria and Amotekun), coupled with the PCRC, we will have more than 300 men in our kitty”.
Bankole, however, charged dpos to make themselves accessible to members of their communities, by ensuring that their phone numbers were made available to them, for the purpose of lodging complaints, even as he gave out his own. “That will give members of the communities unfettered access to you and place a lot of responsibility on the dpos.
“If you allow members of the communities to come and be troubling me in Abeokuta, then, you will have to answer questions on why you are not accessible to them”, the CP said, adding that, “The only way to go is for for all law enforcement agencies and the community to be on the same page in matters of security of the community”.
Substantiating his argument, Bankole noted that members of each community know the in-and-out of their respective communities, “we are empowered by the law to carry out certain duty that will involve the community. So, why are we not going to involve them in the security architecture that will help in securing their lives and property?”.
The Police boss, however, pleaded with the various groups in attendance, comprising captains of industry, Igbo and Hausa communities as well as the PCRC, to partner with the Police in areas of needs, all in the interest of all and sundry, saying “We all will be the end users of the arrangements”.
To criminal elements, the CP warned them to turn a new leaf or flee the state as, “we will come after them and the laws will be visited on them.
Earlier, in his welcome address, the Area Commander, ACP Muyideen Obe, posited that, the CP’s visit was unarguably, home-coming, ” as you are visiting the area you know the way you know your palm. As you know, Otta Area Command largely shares boundary with Lagos State.
“However, the adoption of the community policing initiative by the Area Commander, and provision of the required leadership, in tackling crime, are quite appreciated by the good people of the area”, Obe pointed out.
In a self-assessment of his command, the Area Commander said: “Like any other society, we cannot claim to be completely insulated from crime and criminality but, our proactiveness, through constant raids of criminal hideouts, prompt response to distress calls, evidence-based investigation, purposive engagement with critical stakeholders, are yielding positive results.
“Sir, since a single bracelet does not jingle, we enjoy a robust co-operation and ceaseless Support from all the sister agencies, both formal and informal, as well as all stakeholders, as what you are seeing today is an eloquent testimony to that assertion”, One said.
The Area Commander, however, informed the CP that a notorious gang that specialized in breaking into companies and carting away raw materials, had been smashed, and that “a number of them are standing trials in court, while aggressive manhunt of other fleeing members of the gang is ongoing”.
Also, according to ACP Obe, another group that specialized in diverting companies’ goods has been tracked, and a number of criminals, “while effort is intensified to recover the recently diverted N31million worth of chemical products”.
Obe told the CP that, “Sir, we are committed to your vision, mission, uprightness, exemplary leadership and the unpretentious commitment to policing the contemporary society, in line with international best practices”, while also assuring that, “as an Area Command, we are not going to rest on our oars, and that, we shall keep working assiduously to guarantee the peace and security of this Area Command, in particular, and the state under your able leadership in general”.
Present at the occasion were the Commander of the Nigerian Navy (NN) School of Music, Otta; Head, Director, Directorate of State Security (DSS); Director, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA); Area Commander, Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE); Area Commander, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC); Head, Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIO) and So-Safe Corps.
Others were representatives of traditional rulers; PCRC; some expatriates; the Chief Imam of Sango-Otta, Igbo and Hausa Community members; Iyalode Jackie Adunni Kasim; market leaders and a host of other dignitaries.
