INSECURITY: SECURITY CHIEFS MEET IN OSUN…….AS PCRC CALL FOR STATE POLICE.
Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
As part of their concern towards the high rate of criminal activities in Nigeria, the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has convened a 3-day National Security conference to discuss the menace of insecurity.
To this end, security Gurus and stakeholders on security will next
week assemble in Osogbo, the Osun State capital to proffer lasting solution to the menace of kidnapping and terrorism in the country.
Similarly, the Committee has pulled its weight behind the introduction
of state Police, describing it as the antidote to prevent crime in
the grassroots.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday to herald the national security conference in Osogbo, the Chairman of the Conference planning committee, Mr John Okedoye, informed that, the conference became imperative because of the worrying state of insecurity in the country.
He said the conference will draw participants from the 36 states of
the country including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, adding that keynote speakers at the conference include the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, former IGP, Solomon Arase, Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Senator
Babafemi Ojudu and an educationist, Dr Oyebade Olowogboyega.
Okedoye noted that the theme of the conference “Combating the Twin
Evil of Terrorism and Kidnapping Through People Policing” was
carefully selected to ensure that the conference solves the problems
confronting the nation’s security.
He said Police chiefs and other heads of security agencies from across
the country would deliver papers at the conference, adding that the
recommendations of the conference will be presented to the federal government.
He disclosed that the conference which will hold in Osogbo from 26th July will have Governor Rauf Aregbesola hosting other state Governors from across the country.
On the call for state Police, the PCRC boss stated that “the state
police is the only solution to insecurity in this country. We need Police officers who understand the language, culture and tradition of the people to serve and not those that are strange to the environment where they work.”
He stated that State Police would boost security at the grassroot
level and also enhance adequate security of lives and properties of
Nigerians, stressing that “state police is overdue in this country and
it is high time we introduce it for the good of the nation.”
Okedoye noted that the number of Police officers in the country is low
compared with the rate of crime, hence the need for the introduction
of state Police and recruitment of additional police officers.
For insecurity to end in the country, Okedoye urged the masses to
volunteer information to law enforcement agencies, stressing that
“Nigerians should not be afraid of giving information to the Police
and other security agencies; this is the only way by which crime can
be reduced in the state.”
Reported by Richard Akintade, Osogbo
