From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has urged residents in the state to put behind them the incidents that triggered the #EndSARS protests and see police as their friends and confidants for the country to have a united front in the fight the monster against insecurity.
Governor Fayemi regretted that the #EndSARS protests that rocked the country last year had eroded the people’s respect for the police, reminding that the cops can only be effective if information is provided by members of the public.
The governor said this in Ikere-Ekiti on Saturday while commissioning the newly constructed Ilupeju Divisional Police Headquarters.
The new police station was built and donated to the police by a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mr Tunde Ogunsakin, who is also an indigene of the town.
Two police stations in Ikere-Ekiti were burnt down by protesting youths during the #EndSARS upheaval, while about five vehicles and many motorcycles belonging to the police were damaged during the crisis.
The governor, represented by the Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig-Gen Ebenezer Ogundana, implored residents ‘to wholeheartedly accept the Police as their true friends and confidants and avoid a repeat of the recent #EndSARS saga that was hijacked by hoodlums.
‘The establishment of the new and well equipped Ilupeju Divisional Police Headquarters has guaranteed the citizens’ maximum security while I also warn the criminal elements to repent or face the full wrath of the law.’
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, represented by the Police Commissioner, Ekiti Command, Mr Tunde Mobayo, appreciated the donor and prayed God to continue to bless him with good health.
He enjoined the people of Ikere-Ekiti to respect and obey the lawful instructions from the Police.
‘As a way of ensuring collaboration to fight kidnapping, banditry, robbery and insurgency, you should give us credible and timely information that could lead to the arrest of criminal elements in society,’ he said.
The donor, AIG Ogunsakin, said he was moved to rebuild the broken walls of security in Ikere town, to buoy the level of security in the community and its environs, after the effects of #EndSARS protests.
According to him, ‘the construction and commissioning of the project was a dream come true.’
Ogunsakin thanked Governor Fayemi for his encouragement, motivation and a keen interest in the project.
He also thanked Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Samuel Adejimi Adu, for his support, words of encouragement and love for the security of his subjects.
In his remarks, the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adejimi Adu, saluted Governor Fayemi and AIG Ogunsakin for the newly commissioned police station and also thanked them for providing alternative security measures when the police withdrew from the town, saying the action helped in safeguarding the lives of the populace.