Spread fake news, face wrath of law, police to Anambra residents



The former Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, CP John Abang, on Thursday, officially assumed office as Anambra State commissioner of police, with a promise to sustain the fight against criminality and other vices prevalent in the state.
Abang, who replaced the erstwhile CP of the state, Mutsapha Dandaura, who was recently transferred, said he was briefed by his predecessor that few criminal and security challenges in the state at the moment were “disputes over land, the menace of one chance robbery gangs, robbery, kidnapping and of course cultism.”


According to him, “Undoubtedly, the command under my predecessor, CP Mustapha Dandaura, has recorded many successes in clearing the menace of miscreants in several areas of Onitsha metropolis, the arrest and prosecution of murder and robbery suspects and the general maintenance of law and order in the State. I also want to acknowledge the immense support of the Anambra State Government for the operations and activities of the Police Command and its personnel.”


He said he would sustain the vision of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), IGP Mohammed Abubakar Adamu, among which according to him, were to make Nigeria safer and more secure for economic development and growth.
“The Command under my watch shall take a zero tolerance stance on crime. Therefore, all our efforts and energies shall be mobilized and deployed towards the prevention of crimes; and the successful apprehension of criminals that would test our resolve. 
“Regrettably, only last week, we lost an operative of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in an onslaught against kidnappers. This is indeed unacceptable. Therefore, the Command shall reinvigorate Operation Puff Adder and give it more bite to tackle cultism, robbery and kidnapping particularly. This is a clarion call to all officers and men of the Command to brace up for the task ahead. My advice to cultists, robbers and kidnappers is for them to have a rethink and purge themselves or relocate away from the State.”


He also bemoaned that fake news which, according to him, has the capacity to cause widespread disaffection, chaos, violence or disruption of the public peace, was affecting the state and warned perpetrators to stop it or face wrath of law.
“May I use this medium to warn the purveyors of such news through whatever means to desist henceforth; or face the full wrath of the law whenever they are apprehended. Inspite of our resolve to fight violent crimes and cultism to a standstill, efforts would be made to employ Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) strategies and Community Policing Principles where applicable and germane to specific problems and issues.


“Furthermore, I am not unmindful of other challenges bordering on professional misconduct on the part of our officers and men such as extortion, unlawful/over detention and incivility to members of the Public among others. In this vein, I urge all personnel of the Command to eschew corruption and indiscipline. The Command will sustain the existing inter-agency collaboration and improve our respect for the Rule of Law and fundamental Human Rights in accordance with international best practices.”

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