Fish Out Criminals in Cloak of Herdsmen, Okowa Charges Delta Police

•  Hands police ten security vehicles

Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

Worried by the menace of nomadic herdsmen that have heightened insecurity across the state recently, Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, wednesday charged the state police command to apprehend criminals hiding under the cover of herdsmen in the state.

Okowa, who gave the directive while handing over 10 refurbished security vehicles to the state police command, stressed that the police have to separate the bad eggs from genuine and law-abiding herdsmen,

Specifically, the police should strive to identify for proper prosecution criminals masquerading as Fulani herdsman and perpetrating criminal activities like kidnapping and armed robbery across the state, he said.

The governor noted that the most urgent task before the police in the state is to tackle the menace of nomadic herdsmen, ransom kidnapping, banditry and restoring peace in the communities being rocked by different communal feuds.

He said the state government presented the vehicles to boost the crime detection and fighting capacity of the state policed command, noting that the police require all the assistance they could get in order to successfully carry out their onerous function of protecting lives and property of citizens.

Okowa, while presenting the security vans to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zanna Ibrahim, said: “We are worried by the menace of herdsmen in our communities and we believe that the police require all necessary assistance to enable it succeed in tackling crime in our state.

“People who are parading themselves as herdsmen with dangerous weapons should be stopped because we are aware of genuine herdsmen who have lived with our people over the years without any problem. No criminal should hide in the guise of herdsmen to perpetuate evil. The police need to be vigilant and flush out the bad eggs among the herdsmen. Issues of kidnapping, armed robber and others should be checked because we want a peaceful state for speedy development.”

He however commended the police commissioner for initiating refurbishment of broken down patrol vehicles of the police, asserted that there is the need to continually carry out maintenance of existing equipment and plants to ensure their effective utilisation and productivity.

The governor said: “We provided the resources to refurbish and service these grounded vehicles in the state police command to improve mobility and security in the state.

“I believe that in this era of recession, we need to have maintenance culture where existing vehicles and equipment are maintained for optimal efficiency and productivity. Even when the economy improves and new vehicles are provided, we still need to carry out maintenance of existing ones.”

Earlier, the state police boss, Ibrahim, said the vehicles were refurbished through the financial support of the state government, and that they would be distributed to various units of the police across the state for effective patrol of the state.

He called for partnership with government, non-governmental organisations and communities in the provision of security in the state, observing that security should be the duty of everyone as the police was ready to receive necessary information from the public to check criminal activities.