IG Overhauls South-east Security, Appoints New CP for Anambra

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Usman Baba, yesterday began the overhauling of the South-east police structure with the appointment of Mr. Chris Owolabi as the Anambra State Police Commissioner.

A statement signed by Force Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, a Commissioner of Police, said the deployment of the new CP was part of the ongoing efforts at “re-ordering, overhauling and strengthening” the security and policing architecture in Anambra State and other states of the South-east and South-south geo-political zones of the country.

Police formations in the zones had recently become the target of armed groups, leading to the destruction of the Imo State Police Command and the killing of police personnel in Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi and other states.
The statement said the shake-up was “designed to improve the operational efficiency of the commands and enhance public safety and security.”

CP Chris Owolabi takes over from CP Monday Bala Kuryas,
who was redeployed to the Anti-fraud section of the Force Headquarters Annex, Lagos.
In the same vein, the Acting IG ordered the posting of other strategic and tactical commanders within the zones. Two Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs), 14 Assistant Commissioners of Police and other mid-level officers were also affected.

The IG charged the new Commissioner of Police in Anambra State to take adequate measures in consolidating and improving on the gains of his predecessor. He further charged the CP “to rejig the security apparatus of the state, harness the full potential of the command, its workforce, assets and stakeholders in advancing the collective safety of all citizens.” The IG equally enjoined the people of South-east and South-south zones to cooperate with the police and other security agencies to enable them succeed in the responsibilities of safeguarding them and the commonwealth of the nation.
Meanwhile, Federal Capital Territory Command has launched an operation against the use of unauthorised covered number plates and tinted vehicles.

A statement by the command said the operation had become “extremely necessary due to the recent security threat analysis conducted by the Joint Team which reveals that criminal syndicates now execute their nefarious activities using tinted vehicles with covered number plates.”
There have been palpable fears of possible infiltration of the nation’s capital by criminal elements, following the alarm raised by Niger State Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, that fighters of Boko Haram had taken over 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag.
He had warned that Abuja was only a two-hour drive from the state and was within reach of the insurgents.

The command in a statement issued by the Spokesperson, ASP Mariam Yusuf, said the FCT Joint Security Team chaired by the Commissioner of Police, CP Bala Ciroma, “warned residents using unauthorised covered number plates and tinted vehicles within the FCT to desist as violators will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.”

The CP implored residents to cooperate with security agencies and report all suspicious movements to the police through following numbers: 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883 or 112