Tunde Sanni
29 November 2008
Ibadan — Worried by the increase in the wave of armed robbery incident in Oyo State, the state government yesterday canvassed for a joint military/police patrol to stem the tide and repel the daring hoodlums.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 11, Mr. Tunji Alapinni who spoke at another forum shared in the view of the government as he expressed the readiness of the force to abide by the wishes of the state government to restore peace in the state.
The duo spoke over the last Thursday armed robbery incident in which four policemen were confirmed killed while one of the armed robbers was also killed with another one arrested.
The governor's Special Adviser on Public Communications, Prince Dotun Oyelade who spoke with newsmen shortly after the inauguration of the new executive committee of the Correspondents' Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said the joint patrol became necessary to enable the security agencies have a grip control of the security in the state and to reinforce the people's confidence in the democratic project in the state.
According to him, the impression must not be created that the siege which was experienced yesterday (Thursday) in Ibadan has become the norm. "It is quite far from it. Governor, Adebayo Alao-Akala had earlier in the year been anxious about the infiltration of armed robbers from Lagos to Ibadan due to the proximity of the two towns."
The governor's aide stated that the armed robbery attack had reinforced the need for the joint patrol, pointing out, "you will see by the first quarter, the necessary consultations should have been made both with the police authorities and the army headquarters too. So it is a thing that has already being anticipated by the governor and it will be brought to fruition."
However, Alapinni who spoke in company with the police commissioner , Bashiru Azeez stated that the force has commenced consultations with the state governors of the three South West states of Oyo, Ond and Osun on the need to provide logistics to battle the criminals.
The AIG reminded commercial institutions who have been falling over themselves to reduce the crime wave in Lagos to extend such goodwill to other states since their banks branches are in other states like Lagos .
Azeez who earlier addressed a press conference lamented the loss of four of his men to the robbers who he confessed, appeared more sophisticated that his men.
The police victims of the armed robbery attack, he revealed, approached the robbers bare-chested as he maintained that they had nothing to support themselves when the robbers fired at them.
The COMPOL stated that the robbers were well prepared for the attack which involved two new generation banks, adding that the robbers operated with sledge hammer with which they broke into the banks while over 1, 000 expended ammunition were recovered from the robbery site.
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