By Edebor Esther Ihunanyachi
In a bid to strengthen security and ensure the protection of lives and properties in Edo State, the State Government has continued to introduce new approaches in tackling crime in the State.
The drive led to the creation of Edo State Ministry of Public Security and Safety which is responsible for monitoring and supervising the security operations in the State.
The Commissioner for Public Security and Safety, Omololu Ojehomon, revealed that the Ministry is approaching security from a different dimension; a wholesome approach focused on reducing the number of people involved in crimes and going headlong with people who eventually decide to get involved in crimes. She said the Ministry collaborates with other State Ministries, departments and agencies to provide the proper orientation to accomplish the goal of optimum security.
The Ministry having been mandated by the Governor to draw up a 30-year projection plan that will proffer sustainable strategies of ensuring security operations in the State, Hon. Ojehomon posited that with the appropriate orientation from reliable sources, people can better appreciate the need to stay away from crime.
Noting the importance of getting security officers combat ready and fit for effective service delivery, the Commissioner stated that the Ministry is working on the training of security officers in the State in batches and according to hierarchy, to upscale their skills and the use of advanced practices in security operations.
The Commissioner who decried the incidences of people being smuggled into the State through trucks conveying goods, which dispatch them to various parts of the State, said such has contributed to the rapid increase in the population of residents in the State. She added that the result of the influx of people into the State in search of better livelihoods poses security threats to the State as some of them have the tendency of resorting to crime.
To combat the ugly trend, the Ministry has reached out to owners of these trucks with specific rules as well as the consequences for flouting them, clearly spelt out in order to monitor carriages and ensure that all of their vehicles convey goods only.
It is pertinent to note that in fostering peaceful co-existence amongst communities and eliminating herder-farmer clashes in the State, the Ministry has reached out to the leaders of communities and heads of the Shuwa Arabs, cattle owners in order to broker peace and strengthen ties among the citizens in the communities.
The call is for all residents in the State to be law-abiding and to report any crime to the appropriate authorities as taking the law into one’s hands is a crime. In the commissioner’s words, “In the event of crime or falling victim to criminality, resorting to violence is not justified and would not be tolerated, as violence cannot be corrected with violence”.
