Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba has declared that peace has returned to Imo State after weeks of security breaches that even resulted in the loss of lives of officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force working in the state.
He spoke Friday in Owerri, the Imo State capital when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor shortly after commissioning the Headquarters of Operation Search and Flush located on Owerri/Aba road.
Baba said Imo State was in the news for the wrong reason recently but noted that Governor Uzodimma’s support to the police not only helped to restore the confidence of the officers and men but went a long way in aiding the quick return of peace to the state.
He thanked the Governor for keying into his Operation Restore Peace by recognising that policing is not all about manpower alone but about tools, equipment and strategic planning.
The IGP praised the Governor for procuring critical tools for Operation Search and Flush such as Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC), pick up vans and also equipping the office with State of the art communication gadgets that will help the arms bearing security agencies involved in the exercise to discharge their duties confidently.
“With the conducive atmosphere like the one I just commissioned as office space, the tools available to the operatives and the cooperation of all security agencies, I am not surprised that the narrative has changed in Imo State,” Baba explained and lauded Governor Uzodimma for making the jobs of his personnel easy.
The IGP who also joined Governor Uzodimma to hand over Cheques to the next of kin of 21 officers and men of the Imo State Police Command who lost their lives while fighting the bandits recently said the N5million given to each of the deceased family will go a long way in assisting the families they left behind.
Welcoming Baba to Imo State, Governor Uzodimma thanked the police chief for supporting the state government in her efforts to bring peace back to the state.
The governor specifically thanked Baba for eliminating the initial rivalry between security agencies, saying that his regime has witnessed a collaboration between the security agencies that is yielding positive result.
Governor Uzodimma however assured the police chief of the preparedness of his government to continue to support all the security agencies in Imo State so that they can play the role of keeping the peace already achieved in addition to securing the people and maintaining law and order.
He also announced that the government will give all the police divisions in the state some amount to enable the leadership rise to the ocassion of deepening the peace that had been achieved in Imo State.
The IGP was accompanied on ghe vudit by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, an Assistant Inspector General of Police, Police commissioners and other principal officers in his office.