Kogi government says state is now safe, peaceful

chika ebuzor

September 22, 2017 5:16 PM

Jerry Omodara, the Special Adviser (SA) to Gov. Yahaya Bello on Security, disclosed this to newsmen in Minna.

The Kogi Government on Friday said that the state was now peaceful and safe following its collaboration with security agencies to stamp out high rate of insecurity that had been bedevilling it since 2016.

Retired Navy Cdr. Jerry Omodara, the Special Adviser (SA) to Gov. Yahaya Bello on Security, disclosed this to newsmen in Minna.

“Due to government collaboration with security agencies, Kogi is now peaceful and safe because kidnappings, armed robbery, cult activities, assassination and other forms of crime which have been increasing since 2016 have been reduced to the barest minimum.

“If the atmosphere is not peaceful there won’t be any meaningful development, that is why government is making sure that there is peace to enable it to develop the state,’’ he said.

Omodara said that before now, security agencies in the state were working independently instead of collaborating to ensure security, hence the wave of crime increased.

“It got to a point where 107 kidnap cases were recorded in the state within seven months,’’ he said.

He said that part of measures taken by the government was to make a law to enable it to demolish any house linked or belonging to a kidnapper.

“We have demolished over 18 of such houses within seven months,’’ he said.

The special adviser said that part of the collaboration with security agencies was the joint patrol of 145 security personnel in all the nooks and crannies of the state to secure lives and property.

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He said that government distributed 160 security patrol vehicles recently to assist security agencies in the state to enable them to discharge their duty.

He said that government had also revived the state vigilance outfit by recruiting 3,000 “local security” to complement the efforts of security agencies.

chika ebuzor