The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has raised the alarm that terrorists are moving southward to take refuge in the forest.

He reiterated the need for the creation of state police to ensure security of lives and property.

Akeredolu pointed out that the Nigeria Police Force is overstretched, understaffed and lacks the capacity to adequately secure the people.

The governor spoke in his office on Thursday, while hosting the new Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 17, Yunnus Akeera.

He said, “We do not run away from the fact that the police force is overstretched. The same thing, we do not run away from the fact that a single police command in Abuja will not be adequate to police the large populace of the country. This has led to our demand for state police.

“We can complement each other. I have had senior police officers who agree on state police. Maybe they can’t say it in public. Go to Ekiti and even here in Ondo State, most of the police stations have no vehicle. Look at the unfortunate incident that happened in Owo, police said they had no vehicle to pursue the perpetrators.

“Let us all sit down and agree that we should have a system that will create division of labour. We can have the federal police and then, the state police. You can face a major task like intelligence gathering and pass it to the state police to work on.

“What is happening, if not for lack of intelligence people will not go to Kuje and attack the place in Abuja. We need your cooperation too in this our cry for a dual police system that we can work together. People are moving down south to take refuge in our forest. You don’t have the men and officers to secure the country. Police is understaffed. We appreciate your limitations in terms of men, ammunition and so on.

Earlier in his remarks, the new AIG, Yunnus Akeera, who was accompanied to the governor’s office by the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Oyediran Oyeyemi, said he would carry on with the good work the governor has done on security and deepen it. (The PUNCH)

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