The Commissioner of Police in Edo, Mr Abutu Yaro, said the state government’s improved security architecture, was effectively addressing the challenges of crime and criminality in the state.
Yaro said this when Mr Kennedy Osifo, Chairman, Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Areas Development Commission,( EDSOGPADEC) management team, paid on a courtesy visit to his office.
The CP’s comment is contained in a statement issued by Osifo, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Benin.
The statement said Yaro commended the improved security network and described Gov. Godwin Obaseki as a silent achiever.
He said Obaseki’s administration had demonstrated an uncommon leadership, culminating in the development of the state, especially in the three oil and gas producing local government areas.
He said the security network had helped the command, since his assumption of office three months ago, to tackle the incessant kidnappings and armed robbery situation along the ever busy Benin/Auchi/Abuja road to a minimal level.
Yaro applauded EDSOGPADEC for achieving huge developmental feats as an interventionist agency in the state, particualarly in the three oil producing areas of Ikpoba-Okha, Orhionmwon and Ovia North-East local government areas (LGAs) .
The CP, who identified rural-urban migration by the youth as a key factor responsible for insecurity, however, assured of the judicious use of the police facilities built by EDSOGPADEC, to address crime and criminality in the state.
Earlier, Osifo told the CP that they were in his office to officially welcome him to the state and to inform him of the commission’s intervention in the improvement of the state security architecture.
He said that the board, following the governor’s approval, had built and furnished three police posts at Evbuahrue in Orhionmwon; Obayantor in Ikpoba Okha and Ekenhuan in Ovia North East LGAs.
The EDSOGPADEC Chairman informed the police boss that the commission was building a marine police residential quarters with installed CCTV cameras in Ologbo and Gelegele, both in Ikpoba-Okha and Ovia North-East LGAs.
He disclosed that the state government had also purchased 8 armored guns and 8 speed boats to secure the waterways, including the Marine Police bases with a concrete Jetty at Ologbo in Ikpoba Okha and Gelegele in Ovia North East.
Osifo noted that the ongoing construction of the burnt and destroyed police stations at Saint Saviour, Ugbekun and Idogbo all in Ikpoba Okha LGA during the ill-fated EndSARS protests in 2020, would be handed over to the command when completed.
According to him, Gov. Obaseki has also directed the commission to build decent housing accommodations with 24-hour Solar Light with security gadgets for the Police officers to carry out their duties excellently to secure the areas.
He said that the commission was also planning to build private jetty for the police at Ologbo, and assured that ongoing construction of police stations including the Area command office in Uromehe in Orhionmwon, Ogo N’Erie, at Ugbekun in Ikpoba Okha and Ugbine in Ovia North East, would be ready before the end of August 2022.
Osifo expressed confidence that the command would be able to effectively and efficiently curtail crimes being reported, once the police authority took over the facilities.
He further disclosed that the offices of the Divisional Police Officers in Edo would be equipped with state-of-the-art operational technology that would make them more operationally savvy for crime prevention and control.(NAN)