Posted by The Port Harcourt Telegraph on
The Rivers State Governor has decried the continuous interference of the Zone 6 Police Command, Calabar in minor and trivial matters in Rivers State area, which the State Police Command can ordinarily handle.
The Rivers State Governor has decried the continuous interference of the Zone 6 Police Command, Calabar in minor and trivial matters in Rivers State area, which the State Police Command can ordinarily handle.
The situation, according to the Governor, has led to the unchecked arrests and detention of most people from the state at the Calabar Zone 6 Office of the Nigeria Police for matters that are as minor as quarrels between two individuals over girl friend matters.
Governor Odili who said this on Thursday in Port Harcourt when the new Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in charge of the zone, Mr Yusuf Haruna, paid him a courtesy call in Government House, Port Harcourt, explained that most times Police teams from Calabar come into the state and affect arrests, even without the knowledge of the state Police Commissioner.
He said 'this amounted to usurpation .of duty of the State Police Command, and creates an untidy situation as if there are two separate Police Commands operating in the state.
Governor Odili urged the new Zone 6 AIG to ensure that the situation was redressed in the interest of peace, noting that efforts to make the former AIG to see reason to rectify the anomaly did not yield much result.
He congratulated the new AIG on his redeployment to the zone, describing his commencement tour of commands under him from Rivers State is a demonstration of his focus to acquaint himself with the terrain of the Zone.
The Governor explained that his experience with the Police Officers serving in the state shows that they are well trained, and regretted that what was lacking remains the provision of necessary facilities and motivation to work, stressing that the Police Officers in the state have been carrying out their duties creditably.
The State Chief Executive told the new Zone 6 AI.G to help the governments within the zone in combating illegal oil bunkering and cultism, and assured him that Rivers State Government would sustain its support to the Police in the state.
He commended the newly posted Police Commissioner to the state, for his efforts so far, and urged him to maintain the tempo and thanked the new AIG for appreciating the contributions of the state government towards the enhancement of the performance of the Police in the state.
Earlier, the new Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone Six, Calabar, Mr Yusuf Haruna said he was in Port Harcourt at the beginning of his familiarization tour of State Commands under the Zone, and Rivers State was the first to host him 10 days after assumption of duties at the Zone.
Mr Haruna observed that briefings from the State Police Commissioner collaborated earlier knowledge of the Governor's support to the Police Command, especially the provision of vehicles, communication gadgets and accommodation for the Mobile Police Unit in Port Harcourt, amongst others.
He thanked Dr Odili for the tremendous support to the Police, and urged other State Governors to emulate the Rivers State Governor in assisting the Officers to enable them discharge their duties, adding that as a former Police Commissioner who had served in several other states, he had not witnessed the level of support as that provided by Governor Odili.