By; ADAMA JOHN, Lokoja
The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Onuoha Bethrand has appealed to political parties and their candidates to educate their supporters on the need to eschew violence and play the game according to the rule.
The appeal came on the heels of the governorship election that is gathering momentum with the attendant insecurity bedeviling the smooth operation of the command in the state.
Apparently confirming this assertion, CP Bertrand Onuoha paraded nine suspects alleged of various crimes in the state.
CP Onuoha who decried the politically motivated killings and destruction of property across Kogi State especially the Kogi East, enjoined the people to re-establish the love that bound them together before the electioneering process and to consider one another as brother and sister.
According to the commissioner, the eastern flank of the state is endemic in crime, promising that the command is out to root out the trend as the governorship election inches.
He therefore, solicited the support of the citizens in providing credible and actionable information to the police and other law enforcement agencies as the fight against crime is all encompassing.
He however, cautioned politicians to guard against their actions and unmitigated utterances and their unrestrained actions of arming young children of other people against each other to fight their cause.
To him, the command has recorded successes in the fight against predatory activities as nine criminals were apprehended for crimes ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery and collaborators of mob attack on innocent okada rider who was burnt to death for alleged organ harvesting.
Those paraded by the CP, include ThankGod Joseph and Monday Mathew for armed robbery who robbed residents of Onicha Igo in Ofu Local Government Area of the state.
Others are, Haruna Adamu, Yakubu Mohammed and Usman Abubakar, whose false alarm of organ harvesting led to the lynching of one Harisu Abdulrasheed an Okada rider, who exchanged handshakes with them.
The trio of Daniel David, Abdulmumuni Zakari, Akoji Oyibo and Alih Abdulraman were apprehended for their serial kidnappings and car snatching operations across the state.
Items recovered from them include, one AK 47 Rifle, One Ak47 Magazines, live AK 47 ammunition, one shot gun, three dane guns, two 206 and 406 Peugeot cars with Registration numbers, YAB473 PR, 406 REC 856TH; five 50kg gallons of palm oil, one locally made pistol, three cutlasses and several charms.
While warning criminal elements to turn a new leaf or be ready to face the music, the commissioner said that the Command is positioned to stamp them out of the state.
He assured law abiding residents of the safety of their lives and property and called for community based information sharing with police to fish out perpetrators of crimes across the state.
