Bayelsa state Governor, Seriake Dickson, has called on the Nigeria Police Force to set up a motorcycle patrol unit in a bid to extend its dragnet to all nooks and crannies of the state.
The advice, he said, became necessary to make Bayelsa the safest state in the country.
Dickson spoke while receiving the new Commissioner of Police, Asuquo Amba, and his entourage at the Government House, Yenagoa.
While assuring Amba of his administration’s total support in his efforts to make Bayelsa state crime-free, the governor called on the Police to “flush out criminals, including kidnappers, pipeline vandals, cultists and their sponsors.”
He also cautioned against the politicisation of security related issues in the state, stressing that, the matters of security should be treated strictly as such without any political undertones.
Dickson urged the police to collaborate with other security agencies in the state towards sustaining the existing peace, as a peaceful and stable atmosphere is paramount to attracting investments and development.
He said: “You have a crop of dedicated and well-meaning officers and men in this command and we are proud of the work they do. So, you have our support.
“The only thing I always say, when Police Commissioners come, is that in Bayelsa we don’t condone politicisation of crime. Crime is crime; crime has no colour, no creed and crime has no political affiliation. And that is the golden rule we want to see observed.”
Speaking earlier, Amba pointed out that the state government’s policy of zero tolerance for crime and violence was in sync with the Inspector General of Police directive to all the commands in the country.
While expressing preparedness to intensify policing in the state, the CP highlighted some of his achievements within two weeks of his posting to Bayelsa.
According to him, the Police had apprehended a syndicate comprising two ex-soldiers specialised in stealing parked vehicles, using master keys and five persons suspected of vandalising the state-owned gas turbine.
The Police Commissioner, who also announced the arrest of a suspected kidnapper, said 10 vehicles had so far been recovered from the syndicate, while investigations were on-going in all the cases.
