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The
Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga
Daniel, has reiterated the determination
of his administration to fight the
perpetrators of armed robbery in the
state to a standstill. He said this on
Wednesday, August 25 while handing over
a state of the art Armored Personnel
Carrier, APC, to the Ogun State Command
of the Nigerian Police. The handover of
the APC, which took place at the
Remembrance Arcade ground of the
Governor’s office Oke Mosan was in
fulfillment of the Governor’s promise to
beef up the combat readiness of the
Police to put them in a good stead to
checkmate the rising level of armed
robbery attacks against banks especially
in the Ijebu Ode area of the State.
Otunba Daniel said the level of
unprecedented development especially in
the economic sphere could attract some
undesirable element while also noting
that some may be hiding under the cover
of politics to perpetrate heinous
crimes. He however vowed that they would
not be allowed to stay in Ogun because
the government would continue to
support the Police and other security
agencies to root them out. The Governor
noted that in spite of the precarious
financial situation of the state the
multipurpose APC was bought, the sum
of N40million had also been approved
to the police to enhance their
communication while government had
released fund for the repair of their
grounded APCs. He said his
administration had to do it because the
role of government was to perform and
not to give excuses about non
performance. The Governor who said Ogun
was under policed also called on the
Federal Government to approve a joint
police Military patrol for the State in
order to effectively secure the 17 urban
locations and other parts of the state.
Noting that Ogun was no longer a
backwater Otunba Daniel appealed to the
banking community and other stakeholders
to contribute by funding the purchase of
equipment and supporting the security
apparatus as it is done in some other
states.
The Ogun State Commissioner of Police
Alhaji Musa Daura who received the APC
on behalf of the command thanked the
State Government for what he described
as sustained support for the Police . He
said with the delivery of the APC and
the repair of the grounded ones the
combat readiness of the Police has been
enhanced . He said the police was are
equaled to the task of providing
adequate security and also seized the
opportunity to send signal to armed
robbers and other undesirable elements
in the society that they should leave
Ogun State as the police will root
them out.
Olusegun Olusoga, Chairman , Ijebu
Bankers Forum at the occasion thanked
the governor for his prompt response to
the outcry of the Bankers in Ijebu Ode
area. He said from the action of the
Governor it is clear that Ogun has a
listening and responsive Governor .
The new initiative by the Government is
its direct response to the armed robbery
attack against a bank in Ijebu Ode on
Tuesday August 17 when a gang of armed
robbers sack the bank and made away with
an undisclosed amount of money. The
Governor who was en route to Ijebu Ode
for a schedule meeting with the Awujale
of Ijebuland and other traditional
Rulers insisted that his police
escort and personal guards should take
over the job of chasing the Robbers. He
also insisted on going to the Robbery
scene. It took the persuasion of the
Governor before an angry crowd, which
had formed to protest the non prompt
response of security agents, could
disperse. Thereafter Governor Daniel
held a closed door meeting with the
Police High Command during which some of
the new measures were put in place for
immediate implementation. The purchase
and deployment of the APC which will
essentially patrol the financial centers
in Ijebu Ode is expected to boost the
effectiveness of the Police and provide
adequate security cover for banks and
other financial institutions in the
state.
Adegbenro Adebanjo is Chief Press
Secretary to the Governor
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