* says 21,300 arms recovered in 8 months
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, says having
succeeded in using Operation Puff Adder to stabilise the public
security space, the Nigeria Police Force is currently moving to the
next phase of its strategic policing plan woven around two key
actions.
First, according to him, is the launch of community policing
strategy; while the second is the expansion and strengthening of
Operation Puff Adder with other complementary strategies.
The IGP was speaking at the Southwest Security Network Summit
held at the International Conference Centre of the University of
Ibadan.
He said in relation to the southwest, the Force would soon
re-launch the safer city scheme.
He said: “We have since purchased new fleet of patrol vans to be
deployed across our highways and cities. This will also involve the
deployment of cutting-edge CCTV technology for surveillance
functions across the highways and vulnerable locations in our
communities in the zone and other part of the country.”
The IGP said the security situation across Nigeria had been
generally stabilised.
He disclosed that 363 armed robbers, 147 kidnappers and 425
suspected cultists were arrested in the southwest this year.
He said: “Generally speaking, the security situation across the
country has been stabilised. However, there are isolated cases of
kidnapping and armed robbery in the southwest, particularly along
the Benin-Ore-Lagos Highway and across Ondo State.
“The reality is that the current concerted operations of the
police and other security agencies across the country, particularly
along the Niger-Kogi-FCT-kaduna-Katsina and Zamfara areas, have
engendered a dispersal and relocation of some of the criminals to
new localities including the southwest.
“21,300 ammunition of various descriptions and calibre were
recovered in various intelligence led operations with the highest
number of 5,270 ammunition recovered from criminal syndicates in
the south west including about 2,700 ammunition recovered in June,
2019 from a cross-border arms smuggling syndicate in Oyo state.
Furthermore, 1,541 stolen vehicles were recovered with 482 of such
recoveries achieved in the southwest while a total of 837
kidnapping victims were rescued with 106 of such rescues achieved
in the southwest.”
Oyo State Seyi Makinde, who read the communiqué after the
meeting, said the southwest states had agreed to engage the
services of the Odua People’s Congress and the Miyyeti Allah cattle
rearers to fight insecurity in the zone.