By Onuminya Innocent in Sokoto
The Sokoto State Police Command has said that it will partner media in fighting banditry and other crimes in the state.
The command’s Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Kaoje, stated this on Tuesday when the State Working Committee of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
Receiving members of the committee, Kaoje said no organization will succeed in its activities without the support of the media.
“Any organization, whether governmental or non-governmental, if they don’t use journalists, they are bound to crash.
“They (journalists) are just like a needle, if they pinch you, you sit up,” he said.
He urged media practitioners in the state to act in accordance with the ethics and norms of the profession, just as he stressed the need for them to respect the laws of the land.
He thanked members of the committee for the visit which he said was apt and long overdue.
Kaoje, however, reiterated his call on the state government to proscribe Shi’ites to avoid the emergence of groups akin to Boko Haram.
According to the commissioner, there is no compulsion in religion, thus nobody should hide under the cover of religion to disturb the peace and infringe on other people’s rights.
Earlier, the state Chairman of NUJ, Isa Abubakar Shuni, commended the police in their sustained efforts to maintain peace in the state.
Shuni, however, called for concerted efforts to rid the state of banditry and other forms of criminality.
He assured the command of the support of the council in its activities.
