Tag Archives: Boko Haram insurgency

Police Deploy 3,000 Officers To North-East

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The Nigeria Police said it had deployed 3,000 officers as “holding force’’ to restore civil authority to the liberated areas in the North-East.

 

The Inspector -General of Police (I-G), Mr Solomon Arase, disclosed this at the End of Year Commissioners of Police Conference held at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

“The Force has deployed 3,000 officers as holding forces to the liberated areas in the North-East with the task of restoring civil authority.

 

“It is pertinent to note that the Force has been fighting side by side the Military in the counter-insurgency operation in the North-East’’, he said.

 

He stressed that the Police was making efforts to expand the deployment to cover all other theatres of insurgency in the region.

 

“In this critical national assignment, some gallant officers have paid the supreme sacrifice’’, he said.

 

He added that the force has dismissed 51 officers for corrupt practices, while 56 others had been made to face diverse punishments.

 

“Between May and November, the anti-corruption enforcement architecture emplaced by the Force leadership has led to the dismissal of 51 personnel for proven corrupt practices while another 56 have been awarded various punishments’’, he said.

 

 

He said that Monitoring Unit; X-Squad and the Provost Marshal have been charged to sustain the enforcement drive in the upcoming year.

 

 

The I-G assured that the policy of holding Commissioners of Police, Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers, liable for professional misconduct would be re-enforced.

 

He absolved the Force from acts of violence during the Bayelsa State governorship election.

 

Arase explained that Police did what was expected of them and should not be blamed for problems created by politicians.

 
“In fact, I have written letters of appreciation and recommendation for the Police on duty during the election”, he added.

 

Meanwhile, the Police high command has launched scholarship awards to 301 children of personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty.

 

“They shall not walk alone. We, as their commanders and colleagues, will do everything within our professional powers to keep their invaluable dreams alive and support the family they left behind.

 

 

He said that the force would reward the families of serving police officers that kept faith with the vision of the force.

 

 

Arase urged individuals and corporate organisations to support the gesture, adding that it would add value to the future of the children and serve as a source of encouragement for officers to perform better.

 

 

 

(NAN)

Yola Blast: Relatives Besiege Hospital For Remains Of Loved Ones

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Relatives of victims of Tuesday’s blast in Yola have besieged the Specialists Hospital, Yola, to claim the remains of their loved ones.

Many of the relatives said they thronged the mortuary after visiting the hospital emergency wards and could not locate their relatives.

“Since I did not see my brother who was selling sugar cane at the scene of the incident, I have no option but to come to the mortuary,” said one of them, who simply gave his name as Adamu.

 

Another one, Habila Ibrahim, also said he checked the wards in the specialists hospital and the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, before visiting the mortuary to ascertain if his brother was among the dead.

 

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Bala Sa’id, said the hospital had received 29 dead bodies from the scene of the incident.

 

“As at yesterday night we had 29 corpses in the mortuary.

 

“We also have 30 people on admission with various degrees of injury; I believe by now some of those injured are stable. We are now about to take our rounds and make some discharges,” Sa’id said.

 

He said among the dead were six women and eight children.

Also speaking to NAN, the Public Relations Officer of Yola Federal Medical Centre, Malam Adamu Dodo, said 41 casualties were taken to the hospital, including four dead.

“One of the dead is a woman,” Dodo said.

NAN reports that the blast occurred at 8 p.m. at a night market in front of the Tipper Garage,Yola.

The incident happened about a month after the blast at the Friday Mosque in Jambutu Area, also in Yola.

 

 

(NAN)