The Commandant of Kwara State Sector of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Iskil Ayinla Makinde has observed that the incidences of kidnapping in the country have remained intractable because families of kidnapped victims have in most cases refused to offer information to security officers at critical stage.
Safety of lives of Nigerians and ability of the security agencies to secure lives, he said depend on the much information offered by the victims of kidnappers and the intelligent analysis the law enforcers would put into it for future occurrences.
Makinde was speaking at a media parley with newsmen at the command’s headquarters in Ilorin, Tuesday, where he did a stocktaking of the state command activities in the past year.
According to him, when there is a case, people will report the matter to the security agencies but leave them out when it comes to paying ransoms
Instead of family to give complete report of what is happening, especially when the kidnappers get in touch, “we expect family to relate with us, give us the phone number and let us see if one can try”
“By the time they want to pay ransom, we want to know the processes of kidnapping, how they want to pay the ransom, to who and where, so that we will be able to analyse for future references. It is the actions before, during and after a kidnapping that can assist us”
While giving a breakdown of the commands efforts in the past year, Makinde said a total of 1027 cases were incidented, with 31 prosecutions. He said six criminals were convicted while one was acquitted.
Makinde also reported that 534 cases were resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution with 378 cases still under investigation.
Looking ahead to the new year, the commandant said it would not be business as usual for vandals, oil bunkerers and other criminals in the new year, averring that more surveillance activities would be intensified as part of the mandate of the command to prevent among others, likely disasters..
“Those intending to smuggle fuel out of the country should get ready for a tough year ahead,” he stated.
He asserted the readiness of the units in charge of counter-terrorism, cultism and kidnapping to intensify efforts towards reducing such crimes to the barest minimum in collaboration with other security agencies in the state.
He said training and re-training of officers on weapons handling in the command will be taken seriously to avoid accidental discharge.
On staff discipline, Makinde disclosed that two officers were transferred out of the state last for gross misconduct, while four others were sent to the national headquarters of the defence corps for disciplinary action.
He admonished officers and men of the command to be and professional whenever they were out on official duties.
The Commandant said the women squad of the command would be unveiled this year as 24 hours surveillance begins soon in the correctional centres of the state.
Commending the productive synergy between the command and other security agencies in the state, he said matters that fall outside the mandate of the command were usually handed over to the appropriate security agencies for action
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