New CP Declares War on Criminal Activities in Rivers

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The newly deployed Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mr. Okon Effiong, has declared war on crime and all social vices in the state.

This is as the 43rd commissioner of Police in Rivers, has vowed to deal with human rights violators, stressing that anyone found guilty of the offence would be made to face the wrath of the law.

He, therefore, warned any person intending to cost the state of its relative peace to desist from such action, threatened to take battle to the hideouts of suspected the suspected criminals in the state.

Effiong gave the charge yesterday, during his median briefing with journalists at the Police headquarters on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.

He said: “No society wants to be at the same point for too long. Rivers state has paid its dues and deserved peace. From this moment it shall be more of proactive policing than reactive policing.

“We will take the battle to them. So we will take the battle to them and smoke them out of their hideouts.

“I request that peradventure there people who still feels indulgence in criminal is profitable, I want to assure you that it is not. Now is the best time to come out of the crime and other social vices because Rivers state will not provide a place for you to do what you want to do.

“We must meaningfully engage in such activities that will contribute to the growth and development of Rivers State. So is time out for criminals. It is time for us emplace everything that is necessary to guarantee peace in the state.”

On the prevention of human rights violation, Effiong said: “Now we are in a democratic dispensation. I am an advocate of human rights preservation. Under my watch the command will do everything possible to ensure that the human rights of individuals are not violated.

“Where there are instances of violation, I request that you should furnish us with those relevant information so that whatever we need to checkmate we are able to do it at the right time”.

The commissioner of Police noted that the government has invested much on security, and said that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Akali Baba, has charged him to deliver on every aspect of the policy agenda he (Baba) has for the entire nation.

He called on the support of stakeholders and individuals in Rivers to ensure that the state remain peacefully, free of all level of vices.

He stressed that “Rivers State has been relatively peaceful compare with a lot of other states. We will try the much we possibly can do within the level of safety and peace in the state.

“But as a person, it is my responsibility to harness all the potentials within the system to make sure that we go beyond the level of peace that has already been achieved.

“If we are not able to go beyond that level it means we will be operating at the level of stagnancy and when we operate at that level we will hit at marginal point and performance will begin to drop. But under my watch we will not allow performance to drop.

“The government has invested so much in security. You will agree with me that without security there would not be sustainable development. So as much as it is practically possible, we will ensure that the investment of the government and people of Rivers state in security is not wasted.”

Effiong is the immediate past Commandant, Police Collage, Oji River, Enugu State, from where he was redeployed to the state as the 43rd Commissioner of Police Rivers State.