The Special Adviser to the Ekiti State Governor on Security Matters, Brigadier General Ebenezar Ogundana (retd) has said the state would take delivery of the long-awaited drones that would help in addressing the increasing security challenges including kidnappings, killings and other heinous crimes.
Ogundana who spoke during the monthly security meeting of heads of security agents on Tuesday in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital said the equipment which will arrive the state before the end of August would be deployed to flashpoints across the state to help in preventing criminal elements from carrying out their evil works.
The meeting was attended by the heads of police; Nigerian Army, Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps; Amotekun Corps and other relevant security bodies in the state.
The governor’s aide, who lamented the renewed kidnapping incidents in the state, charged residents to avail security agencies information to prevent security breaches, saying, “security is the responsibility of everybody – the traditional rulers, religious leaders, youths, vigilante and all other agencies.”
According to him, “Ekiti State belongs to all of us, nobody will come from anywhere to develop this place for us. We must join hands with the government to make sure we move forward. Mr Governor is trying all possible means, we are expecting our drones to land before the end of this month.
“We want to commence the training by next week, then the Safe City Project is on, we have early response programme that is on, the equipment has arrived, by next week, the team will be here to set it up, these are part of the efforts that Mr Governor is making to ensure security in the state.
“At the end of this meeting, we are going to come out with a strategy different from what we used to have to ensure that kidnapping and other criminal activities in the state is put to stop.
“What we have discovered is that our people (community) went to sleep, believing that since the security agencies had done the job, there would be no incidence again. Our people at home have a bigger role to play. The citizens, the monarchs, other state actors have to join the security agencies to make sure that things will work as it used to,” Ogundana said.
Ekiti State Police Commissioner, Mr Tunde Mobayo, said the police was in collaboration with other sister agencies and as well engaging in consultations with the public through traditional rulers, critical stakeholders, local hunters, commercial drivers, okada riders on fighting insecurity.
Mobayo said: “If we draw our resources together, we have enough people to police our society. We have policemen, the Amotekun are there, local hunters, vigilante, constabulary police, if we can harness these people together with the help of the traditional rulers, local hunters and the Fulanis, they can police the society.
“I have directed the DPOs to be conducting patrols with members of the public – if you see our patrol vehicles in a division, policemen, local hunters, representatives of the farmers and commercial drivers will be there. They will be doing it jointly. I have mandated them to be holding meetings so that they can address areas where we have problems and how to solve such.”
The police commissioner, who said the police were working behind the scene on curbing kidnapping and insecurity generally, said, “in March, April and May, I prosecuted 18 kidnap suspects in court. I got them arrested and prosecuted. The number has continued to increase.”
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