A New Sheriff is in Town, New Kwara Police Commissioner Okaula Tells Criminals

*Kwara Police declares 118 notorious cultists wanted, arrest 30

The Kwara State Police Command is not resting on its oars in curbing cultists attack, armed robbery and kidnap cases in the state. In an interview with Correspondent MOSUNMOLA AYOBAMI, the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Sam Okaula, speaks on the efforts of the command in maintaining peace and harmony the state is known for. Below are excerpts of the interview…

What are you doing to control the frequent cases of armed robbery, street violence cultist war, kidnapping and ritual killings in Kwara State?

The fact is we have one or two cases of robbery here and there, cultism and one or two killings and cult related occurrences. We have also gone ahead to arrest a lot of alleged armed robbers who are under investigation. As I’m talking to you we have declared 118 known notorious cultists wanted, we have also arrested nothing less than 30 of them. Yes we have one or two cases of killings but we are on top of the situation and we have also made it known to them that they had better relocated from this place to another place because Kwara State will not condone crime, the commissioner of police and entire Kwara police will get them and sniff them out of their hideouts wherever they are.

Is the crime in the state beyond the police in Kwara?

I’m sure you slept last night with your two eyes closed, so there is no iota of truth that the crime situation in the state is overwhelming. As a matter of fact, it is relatively low when you compare with other states. There is no state that does not have crime though the nature may vary from one state to another but Kwara is relatively peaceful. We are doing our work here but that we are overwhelmed is completely not true. The police command is on top of the situation and there no anxiety whatsoever in terms of the crime situation

How is Kwara Police Command ensuring that the peace and harmony Kwara is known for is sustained?

Of course there is peace and harmony in the state. People are happy; people are going about doing their lawful duties. The Divisional Police Officers are on top of the situation, Area Commanders are also doing their best. We have patrol day and night; we engage some other departments who are going on intelligence gathering. All in all there is peace and harmony, calmness in the entire state and every Kwaran is happy with the state police command.

What has been your experience since you resumed office?

Beautiful! The people have been very cooperative. My men have been on top of the situation as always. There is cooperation from His Excellency the Governor of the state. He has done a lot for us; he has encouraged us to do our work. Above all, members of the public have been there for us. We have engaged in intelligence-led policing. We also engage in community policing where we involve the traditional rulers and all the stakeholders. Other sister agencies are also cooperating with us, so the experience has been so beautiful and I’m happy with it and it makes my job easier for me.

Comparing Kwara with other states you’ve worked, how will you rate crime perpetration?

I have said it’s actually very low here, that we have one or two of cult cases, which is general, Kwara State is relatively peaceful and calm and that is why it’s called State of Harmony. So comparatively, crime is low here and I intends keeping it in that level if not improve on it.

Nigeria is about recruiting additional 10,000 police officers as directed by President Muhammadu Buhari, how far can this go in combating crime in the country?

Nigeria is expanding population-wise and we definitely need more policemen, more hands to do the job, so recruitment of more policemen will go a long way to enhance our performance and also boost our output. It’s a good development that we are going to have more hands. As at now, we’ve fallen short of the United Nation’s standard, so more policemen will create more forums for Nigerian society.

How far do you believe in training and re-training of police officers?

Every job you do, you have to be trained and re-trained; you have to catch up. Crime is becoming more sophisticated, we can only catch up with crime if we re-train our officers and men and that is exactly what the Inspector-General of Police has been doing. He has been encouraging all commands to do that, all police institutions have been improved, so training and re-training is an integral part of effective policing and we believe in that and we are doing just that.

What is your advice to Kwara residents?

They should sleep with their two eyes closed because there is a new Sheriff in town and this Sheriff does not condone crime and criminalities. This Sheriff will go out and ensure that those who have decided to make life unbearable for innocent citizens are flushed out; this Commissioner of Police will ensure that harmony remains the slogan of Kwarans.