Of Ibadan, police and miscreants

I refer to an opinion letter with the above caption written by one Tope Fagbamigbe which was published on page 14 of the Friday, 16 December, 2016 edition of the Nigerian Tribune. The publication would not have attracted any rejoinder. It would ordinarily have been taken with a pint of salt but for the deliberate distortion of facts and expression of half truths and innuendoes contained therein.

While I appreciate the concern of the writer as expressed in the article under reference, I am constrained to observe that Mr. Tope Fagbamigbe is either oblivious of the efforts of the Command to curb the excesses of the miscreants or intentionally refused to acknowledge the achievements of the police for the reasons best known to him. In his opinion, he said that “the notorious activities of this gang has continued unchecked for months, driving residents of the Kudeti, Idi Aro, Foko and other areas into mortal fear of impending attacks by this dangerous gang.” While we cannot deny the fact that the criminal gang known as ‘One Million Boys’ has actually caused pockets of violence in those parts of the state, it must be placed on record that miscreants and such violent groups are not peculiar to the state.

Though activities of these hoodlums have been on even before the posting to Oyo State of the current Commissioner of Police, concerted efforts have been made to put their nefarious activities under check by the CP and his predecessors. Perhaps the writer did not know that many of the hoodlums have been arrested and charged to court. It does not also seem that he was aware of the prompt response of the police to contain the situation which would have aggravated and would have probably set the entire state on conflagration of unimaginable proportion! The deployment of patrol teams comprising conventional policemen and Armoured Personnel Carriers and a reasonable number of Mobile Policemen in spite of the recent deployment of over four hundred and fifty policemen and women to participate in the Rivers rerun election in the face of dwindling human and material resources did not deserve his attention! Not only that, feigning ignorance of the arrest of thirty-five of the belligerent miscreants including their arrowheads, who participated in the wanton destruction of lives and property in the affected areas is to be unfair to the police.

It is unfathomable that anyone would conjecture the idea that ‘the policemen at Idi Aro police station know where the hooligans hibernate’ and that “the Oyo State Police Command, under the current Commissioner of Police, is aiding or abetting these crimes against humanity.” This is the most reckless statement I have read recently. This remark not only impugns on the integrity of the highly revered Commissioner of Police, it is also a futile effort to drag the exalted office of a Commissioner of Police into disrepute.  How could a man saddled with the enormous responsibility of maintaining law and order in a state deliberately take actions or refrain from taking actions that will cause disturbance and discomfort to him and his office?

For the avoidance of doubt, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Samuel Adegbuyi, has served meritoriously in various capacities including CP Edo, where he distinguished himself as a successful crime fighter. He has brought his wealth of experience to bear on the policing of the state. The Command under his able leadership has put in place various strategies to curb crimes. These include but not limited to intensive stop and search, aggressive but purposeful vehicle patrol, intelligence-led raid, interagency collaboration, clampdown on Okada riders who often perpetrate crimes using motorcycles. These strategies has indubitably resulted in the plethora of arrest of armed robbery and kidnap suspects, recovery of cache of arms and ammunition, recovery of stolen vehicles, motorcycles and other valuable properties within the short period of his assumption of duty in the state.

Other efforts of the Command include conflict/crisis control and management of crises that could have caused breakdown of law and order in the state. Students’ restiveness, the herdsmen/farmers crisis, labour union crisis, provision of security with the support of the Oyo State government and collaboration of other sister agencies at all times especially during the recent Orelope Bye-election and Accord Party ward Congress, among others are some of the major efforts of the Command. These laudable achievements have been widely reported by print and electronic media.

Rather than tacit calls for militant groups and other unconventional methods to fight crimes which the writer opines would ‘lead to a free for all and eventually, a breakdown of law and order’, what the writer and others should do is to collaborate with the police and other law enforcement agencies to fight crimes in the state by supplying useful information about criminals. Policing can no longer be left in the hands of the police alone. Therefore, parents, guardians, community leaders, members of the vigilance groups, PCRC, individuals, groups and corporate organizations must play a complimentary role in this regard if we must have a peaceful environment where cultural, political and socio-economic activities strive.

We must also have a change of attitude and key into the ‘Change Begins With Me’ campaign/agenda of the president. This campaign was also replicated by the Oyo State Police Command when the CP launched it between 12th and 15th December, 2016 as part of our contributions towards a sane and peaceful society. The change begins with me. Let it begin with you now!

• SP Ajisebutu is the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command.