‘1 million policemen needed to cover Southern Kaduna’ - Police

KADUNA State Commissioner of Police Agyole Abeh has said it will take one million policemen to effectively cover Southern Kaduna, a situation he said is practically impossible.



The police boss, who was commenting on efforts to protect lives and property in the troubled areas, stressed the need for the people to cooperate with the police through dialogue, saying dialogue remains the surest way to resolving the differences.

According to him, the police are already using 40 patrol vehicles, deployed more men and will soon come up with strategies that will reduce crime, not only in southern Kaduna, but across the state.

His words: “As I speak, the area is very calm and there is no record of any incident after the Goska incident. We have deployed enough men to ensure they curb any acts of lawlessness.

“Like I always say, if you can bring the whole police in Nigeria, we cannot achieve the desired result without the people. The people themselves must prepare to embrace peace and accommodate one another.”

Regarding illegal roadblocks mounted by youths, aimed at attacking unsuspecting passengers, Abeh admitted: “We have continued to dismantle them anytime they are mounted. We have the Department of State Services (DSS) and we are working with military intelligence.

“Just yesterday, I ordered the police to dismantle illegal gathering and checkpoints around Kagoro.

“We have arrested some people and working to arrest others because we have evidences. It’s just that we are following them gradually and we have been charging a lot of suspected criminals to court.

“We also intend to, within the next few weeks, come up with strategies to curb vices like drug addiction among youths which has become a source of concern. That is why we said community policing remains the only option. Parents also need to bring up their children in a godly way.”

Abeh, however, disagreed with the number of deaths reported. According to him, the figure was exaggerated though he couldn’t give any figure.