The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in-charge of Zone XI comprising Oyo and Osun States, Oluyemi Agunbiade, has advised Nigerians to shun the habit of given any ethnic and religious colouration to criminal issues.
Agunbiade gave the advice on Wednesday during his familiarisation tour of Oyo State Police Command, Ibadan.
The AIG called on Nigerians to tolerate one another and desist to attacking or attributing criminality to any tribe, saying criminals should be treated as criminals.
According to Agunbiade, the police will leave no stone unturned to ensure protection of lives and properties of the citizenry.
He urged the public to collaborate with the police to achieve the objectives set for the Force.
“We want the stakeholders to appeal to the public that the police are now back stronger and we are ready to work for you.
“We are going to have robust public relationship with you and we want you to have confidence in us and give us useful information.
“There is no way criminals will be more than us; the crimes they commit affects all of us.
“We are not going to allow criminals have their way and we have rolled out new strategies in tackling the criminals,” the AIG said.
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police in the State, Ngozi Onadeko said Oyo State shares boundaries with Osun, Ogun and Kwara States.
According to her, the strategic location often poses challenges to effective policing.
“Hoodlums dislodged in States like Lagos and Ogun often try to use Oyo State as transit route to escape or a place to hibernate.
“But dedicated and highly professional officers of the command are always on duty taking up the challenges.
“The command recorded tremendous achievements in dislodging the criminal elements from their hideouts with the support of the government and people of the State,” Onadeko said.
The Commissioner of Police also appealed for additional manpower and material resources to enable the command to discharge its responsibilities more effectively.
