The Kwara State Police Command issued a directive yesterday to counsel the leadership of traditional worship groups within the state against proceeding with their intended festival in the state capital, Ilorin.
Citing available intelligence, the command expressed reservations about the appropriateness of the anticipated festivities organized by a specific religious faction within the state.
Okasanmi Ajayi, the spokesperson for the state’s police force, communicated this stance through an official statement, indicating that the adherents of traditional worship have been encouraged to consider relocating their celebratory event to another state until a more conducive security environment is established within Kwara State.
In light of this, Ajayi revealed that the police command has introduced fresh security strategies spanning the entire expanse of the state, aimed at guaranteeing the safety of both individuals and assets.
“One of the strategies to put crime and criminality at bay in the state is ‘Harmony Security Week. This operation will include aggressive stop and search, motorized, and foot patrols on a 24-hour basis,” he disclosed.
“In continuation of the Kwara State Police Command’s onerous effort to ensure a safe and secure state for the good people of Kwara, the commissioner of police, Kwara State Command, Ebunoluwarotimi Adelesi, held a meeting with Service Commanders, comprising heads of all security agencies in the state, where the security situation of the state was discussed and existing strategies dissected, where every ‘t’ was crossed and all the ‘i’ was dotted.
“New security plans have been implemented across the length and breadth of Kwara State. One of the strategies to put crime and criminality at bay in the state is ‘Harmony Security Week’. This operation will include aggressive stop-and-search, motorized, and foot patrols on a 24-hour basis.
“To this end, the CP is using this medium to put the good people of Kwara State on notice of the special security operation and advise the people not to panic or be apprehensive when confronted with the police men on the assignment but to comport themselves and submit themselves for body and vehicular searches whenever they are asked to do so. The officers deployed for the assignment have been trained and warned to respect the rights of the citizens in the process of carrying out their duties.”
