By Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun has sought the support of the Nigeria Police Force to prosecute the antics of land grabbers terrorising residents of the state.
Governor Abiodun said that rather than these criminal elements to be brought down to Ogun State Police Command, Eleweran, Abeokuta, whenever they are caught, they are rather taken to Zone 2 office of the police in Lagos where they believe they could play some games after which they are usually left off the hook.
The Governor expressed his dissatisfaction while receiving the new Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone 2 comprising of Ogun and Lagos states Police Command, Ari Mohammed Ali who was on a courtesy call to Abiodun at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The Governor, who solicited the cooperation of the AIG in breaking the backbone of land grabbers, said, when arrested, the culprits prefer being taken to Zone 2 to avoid being prosecuted.
He said, “I want to solicit your support in ensuring that we break the back of this land grabbing. I understand that there are instances where land grabbers are arrested in Ogun State and they are brought to Zone 2 for questioning.
“I expect that they take them straight to the Commissioner of Police first and only if the CP in his wisdom believes that the case should be transferred to the Assistant Inspector General of Police, then it should be transferred to the AIG because what we found out in the past is that they do this to avoid been properly prosecuted.
“They believe they can come to Zone 2 and play some games. When they are left off the hook, they come back again to terrorise the people. Most of the land grabbers are repeat offenders. So I want you to help us to look into this so that we can ensure that the land grabbers do not escape the long hands of the law.”
Abiodun has however said that efforts are being made by his government to flush out kidnappers, cultists, and land grabbers.
He said his government has concluded arrangements to launch its surveillance drones, to be performed by the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
Prince Abiodun noted that kidnapping, cultism, and land grabbing are serious security challenges facing the government that must be tackled headlong.
He said, “Very soon, we will be inviting the Inspector General to our state because we want to launch our Surveillance Drones. We believe that with the use of drones, we will be able to reduce the number of blind spots that we have in the state because as of now, there is no way, even if we deplore the entire police in Ogun State, we cannot cover all the blind spots in the state.
“When we deplore these drones, particularly, along the known occurrences, it will allow men of the Command to respond to distress calls as soon as they identified where the crime has been committed.
“Also, I would like to plead with you for some of your men to assist us in this anti-cultism fight. We are prepared to provide them with the required logistics as the former CP will be overseeing the different units of Anti-cultism, kidnapping, and Quick Response Squad.”
Abiodun assured of logistics support to the police to enable them to discharge their duties, emphasising that as a state with the highest number of industries in the country as well as educational and religious camps, coupled with having the busiest federal highway, a lot of pressure is put on the security architecture, hence his administration was collaborating with neighbouring states in patrolling major roads, particularly at the border areas, to reduce attacks from hoodlums.
He said for the state to sustain its position as the industrial hub of the country, his administration would ensure that incidences of security infraction are nipped in the bud, expressing the hope that with AIG Ali’s rich experience and background in operations, insecurity in the state would be a thing of the past.
Speaking earlier, AIG Mohammed Ali, said he came to familiarise himself with the state, adding that his Zone was ready to take the fight to all land grabbers, kidnappers and cultists disrupting the peace of the state.
He appreciated the Governor for his past assistance to the zone and called for more support from the state government to enable his officers and men to carry out their duties more efficiently.