Bello makes Kogi unsafe for criminals – IGP

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has said Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State is in charge of security in his state, saying he makes it impossible for criminals to thrive.

The IGP stated this during his visit to Kogi State, adding that he was happy that Bello “is a dependable ally in the battle against national insecurity.”

He said, “I’ve never heard him crying that he doesn’t have control of security in his state. That is because he is able to synergise and cooperate with all the security agencies, as well as lead from the front. Security is everybody’s business. When you have a leader who is leading from the front, others will follow. That is what is happening in Kogi.

“Many of the crimes being committed by sons and daughters of Kogi are not even being committed in Kogi but outside Kogi because they have no place in Kogi State again.

“My sincere gratitude to His Excellency for being proactive about security. I can’t remember how many times he has visited the force headquarters, not for himself; but in his efforts to protect his people. I don’t know how many governors do this.”

Bello, in his speech, reiterated the readiness of his administration to resist attempts by some desperate politicians to plunge the state into the pre-2015 era of insecurity in the guise of playing politics.

He commended the men of the Kogi State Police Command, under the command of CP Edward Egbuka, as well as other security agencies operating in the state.

He said, “They stand by day and by night to secure our lives and properties. We recognize their sacrifice and dedication and we do owe them a weight of gratitude for their service.”

Bello recollected that before he came on board, residents of the state lived in perpetual fear of rampaging insecurity, including terrorism, kidnapping, bank robbery, violent political agitations, pipeline vandalism and herdsmen/farmers conflicts, among others.

He added, “By the grace of God, over the last seven years, my administration has done its best to supply both the tools and the allied morale boosters that our officers need to excel. In our first year, we were able to buy and distribute over 200 patrol vans, over 500 motorcycles and thousands of communications and tactical equipment to the services. We also continue to provide regular maintenance and logistical support.

“We also established a Joint Task Force, Operation Total Freedom, for them which allowed the Police, the Armed Forces and all the other Security Services, including our community policing network (the Kogi State Vigilante Services), to work in tandem, sharing intel and collaborating real-time in operations. In this way we were able to tackle the distrust existing among the services and which is the root of the lack of synergy hampering their effectiveness.”