The police in Edo State have commended the provision of vehicles to its command, saying the activities of kidnappers and other criminals have reduced less than two months after it received five Sienna vehicles for patrol in Edo central.
This was part of the weekly report at the state command in Benin, where kidnap suspects from communities under Irrua, Uromi and Ekpoma area police commands in Edo Central were being detained for onward prosecution.
According to a police source, five Sienna vehicles donated by one Monday Okpebholo have revived the joint patrol of police and local vigilantes, codenamed Atanakpa, to arrest criminal elements in Ugboha, Uwesan, Uromi and across communities in Esanland where kidnappers hitherto had field day.
Kidnappings in the past few years have become a major source of worry to both the people of Edo State and policemen especially in Edo central where massive forests and unfavourable terrains have aided the activities of these miscreants.
Despite the creation of the Atanakpa security outfit and efforts by some persons to contribute to its take off, the criminal activities prevailed, with many locals and commuters being kidnapped on daily basis.
According to a police source in Benin City, the state capital, the unavailability of logistics hindered the efforts of the Atanakpa until few weeks ago when a philanthropist, Mr Okpebholo donated five brand new Sienna buses to the joint security network.
The vehicles were handed over to Edo State Police Command and traditional rulers in Irrua, Edo State for the security network to use in its operations.
During the handover ceremony, the commissioner of police, Abutu Yaro, who was represented by the area commander, commended the efforts of Mr Okpebholo and warned that the vehicles must be used for the joint security patrol or parked at the police stations when not in use to guide against abuse and misuse.
A member of the local vigilante, Mr Simon Ufua, said, “The vehicles have increased our motivation and enabled us to penetrate those difficult terrains. Thank God we have arrested several kidnappers and foiled many of their operations in the past few weeks.”
The police commissioner had previously lamented the inability of his men to go into the remote areas because of lack of operational vehicles until the donation of the vehicles by Okpebholo.
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