‘Elderly Persons, Soft Targets Of Kidnappers’

Elderly persons have become soft targets for kidnapping, a former spokesman of Kwara State Police Command, Ajayi Okasanmi, has said.

This is even as Okasanmi described Kwara as one of the safest states in the country.

The former police image maker stated this yesterday during the monthly meeting of the National League of Veteran Journalists (NALVEJ) in Ilorin, the state capital.

Okasanmi delivered a lecture on security tips for the elderly.

“The elderly are the soft target for kidnapping. Kidnappers know that children will do anything to secure the release of their fathers/ mothers. So, elders should be careful about where they go and the activities they engage in,” Okasanmi stated.

He also advised the elderly persons to exercise restraints in responding to messages, especially ones on financial issues so as not to become victims of fraudsters using the internet to perpetrate crimes.

“We should be careful not to fall into fraudsters’ hands through messages sent to us on the telephone. We should exercise restraint in responding to messages on financial transactions on the phone so that the fraudsters don’t empty our bank accounts,” Okasanmi advised.

He expressed delight that Kwara is one of the safest states in the country, adding that,” whatever indices you are considering, Kwara will be between number one and three of the safest states in Nigeria”.

Okasanmi thanked journalists in the state for their support which he noted had made his tenure as the police spokesman in the state eventful and successful.

In her remarks, the new police spokesman in the state, Toun Adeyemi, thanked journalists for their support for her predecessor and requested them to extend same to her.

She promised to build on the legacies of Okasanmi which has endeared him to journalists in the state.

Earlier, speakers including the league chairman, Alhaji Tunde Akanbi, had poured encomiums on Okasanmi for effective delivery of his mandate as police spokesman in Kwara State.