Osun PCRC demands creation of more area commands

Osun Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) has called on the State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola to as a matter of urgency, demand from the Nigerian Police for the creation of more Area Commands in the state.

In a statement by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the PCRC was quoted as making the call when it paid a courtesy call on the governor at the Banquet Hall of the Government House in Osogbo.

The committee led by its Chairman, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, representative of the Osun Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abubakar Marafa, Osun Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Folasade Odoro, police officers and the executive council of the PCRC commended the governor for his security initiatives in the state.

Comrade Shittu told the Governor that Osun has witnessed so phenomenal boost in terms of population and size to have only three Area Commands namely; Osogbo, Ife and Ilesa.

He held that the rapid development of towns and villages under the administration of Aregbesola have rendered three area commands for policing ineffective.

Shittu also commended the effort of Aregbesola led government in the area of security and the provision of equipment for the police to combat crime in the state.

He said, “I want to use this occasion to call on our governor that he should try and see to it whenever he is able to meet the Inspector General of Police to make it a point of discussion the need for the increase in the number of Area Commands of police in Osun.

“The population is ever-growing accompanied with development of every nooks and crannies. For instance, the Osogbo Area Command of the police has under it, twenty-two divisions. This to me is too large to be one Area Command.

“With the way Osun is developing and the influx of people from neighbouring states under your administration, three area commands for the whole state may be seen as not effective for the policing of the state. Many of the places that were bush before have been populated with the new developments speed under this government. More communities are springing up therefore requiring new policing capacities,” The PCRC boss emphasised.

The governor in his remarks assured that with the recent government at the centre, the helicopter purchased by Osun for aerial surveillance will be in full operation with the issuance of the short code needed for its operation.

He urged the police committee to collaborate with other community development associations for their aim of effective policing and security to come into fruition.

He added that the fundamental principle guiding states is all about security, saying PCRC should not be handled with kid gloves and that the group should be vigilant and careful in recruiting members into their fold.

Aregbesola also called on the Police Committee to treat the issue of cultism seriously, noting that the issue of cultism must not be allowed to grow in the state.

The Governor said, “I want all hands to be on the deck to make our state a no go area for people with criminal intent. Despite our ranking as one of the least state with crime in the country, much still need to be done to get rid of the little criminals still hanging around the state.

“We are among one of the states with the purchase of high numbers of equipment, we have Armoured Personnel Carrier that can convey twenty armed policemen with surveillance camera and other security gadgets mounted on it.

“We are conscious of the fact that without security, there can’t be a state, that’s why our administration is handling security with utmost importance”.

Speaking earlier, representative of the Police commissioner of Osun, CP Abubakar Marafa, CSP Tunde Showole lauded Aregbesola for providing operational vehicles for the police in the state.

He said that with the numbers of vehicle and other equipment government provided, the police cannot complain of lack of adequate vehicles for its operation in the state.

“With what Aregbesola government has done in the area of providing vehicles, it will be hard for any of the Area Commands to complain about shortage of operational vehicles, the complaint can only be enough personnel to drive the vehicles”.

The state had in 2014 unveiled 20 new highly sophisticated Amoured Personnel Carriers (APC) with powerful surveillance cameras that can see criminal activities in about one kilometres afar. The state had earlier procured five ordinary APCs in addition to several patrol vans and others.