Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Usman Alkali Baba, has assured citizens of Nigeria of sustained efforts by the Force in fighting crimes and criminality and improving public safety and security across the country during the Eid-el-Kabir holiday.
The federal government, through the Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, last Thursday announced that Tuesday and Wednesday would be work-free days to mark Sallah.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Force Public Relations Officer, Mr Frank Mba, said the police chief has charged Commissioners of Police (CPs) in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs) to beef-up security ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration to prevent any untoward situation in their Areas of Responsibility (AoR) throughout the Eid-el-Kabir season and beyond.
He particularly directed the Zonal AIGs and State Command CPs to put in place all necessary security measures to ensure a secure, peaceful, and incident-free celebration.
“They are to, amongst other things, deploy human and other operational assets to carry out confidence-building and crime prevention patrols on major highways, residential and industrial areas, vulnerable points, places of worship, other places of public resort, and around all critical national infrastructure,” the communique partly read.
The IGP equally warned that personnel deployed must be professional and mindful of the fundamental rights of the citizens, and discharge their responsibilities with all sense of decorum and alertness.
While congratulating the Muslim faithful in the country on the occasion of the year 2021 Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Mr Baba reiterated that the force would continue to improve on the recent gains achieved in stabilizing security order in parts of the country, protecting the lives and property of citizens, and denying space for crimes and criminality to thrive in and around the country.
He wished all Muslims a happy and peaceful Sallah celebration and enjoined citizens to celebrate and enjoy the beauty of the Eid-el-Kabir while remaining security conscious and compliant with the COVID-19 prevention protocols.
