Let’s go back to pre-EndSARS relationship, police chief begs Nigerians

“Any police that wants to be successful must have the support of the people.”

News Agency of Nigeria • April 27, 2021

Police

The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 11, Olasupo Ajani, has appealed to Nigerians to stop attacking the personnel of the force and see them as brothers and sisters.

Mr Ajani made the appeal on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting and his familiarisation visit to the police command in Oyo State at the command’s headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.

According to the AIG, Nigerians do not respect the police as they used to before the EndSARS protest, adding that the police and the citizens have been working together peacefully before the EndSARS issues.

He said the EndSARS protest had created distance and disrespect between the police and the citizens.

“You stakeholders that are here as representatives of the people, please sensitise your people and let us go back to the way we were before the EndSARS protests.

“EndSARS has created a sort of vacuum and we want to reclaim the space again and be closer to the people. Any police that wants to be successful must have the support of the people.

“We must cooperate and work together for peace to reign in this country,” Mr Ajani said.

The AIG warned some members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) that were conniving with some police officers to extort money from the people to desist from doing so.

He said all hands must be on deck to achieve peaceful coexistence in the country and stamp out crimes and criminality in the state.

Mr Ajani called on the youth to shun drug abuse and respect the rule of law for the good of all.

The Eze Ndigbo, Alex Anozie; Seriki Shasha, Haruna Malyasin and representatives of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oloye Lekan Alabi, promised to talk to their subjects on the need to be law abiding.

Earlier, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Ngozi Onadeko, said the state was relatively peaceful while officers and men were working tirelessly to surpass the present level of security in the state.

Ms Onadeko, however, listed some challenges faced by the command to include inadequate manpower, inadequate arms and ammunition, among others.

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