By Ayodele Oni
Immediate past Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, Wilfred Afolabi, has announced that he was happy that cases of kidnapping reduced to the barest minimum during his stay in the state.
Speaking of Monday at the handing over ceremony to his successor, Afolabi said that for almost a month now, there has never been any reported case of kidnapping in the State.
“I always say that it’s not the number of years you spent that really counts, but how well, the number, what have you been able to achieve within the short space of time that you were here.
“I’ve taken time to lecture, I mean, to communicate to the incoming CP of some of the things that we put in place that assisted us to achieve the successes we could boast of today.
“The past one month, go and do your research, we’ve not had a single case of kidnapping in Ondo State.
“So it’s as a result of the crime prevention strategies, that were introduced and how our men were made to show more dedication to the job they’re doing. And I thank God that at the end, it yielded good dividends.
“So it must be sustained and what that implies is that you must give him more support even than you have given to me. And I’ve equally taken time to speak to all the officers too. The police job is one family.
“I will equally want to thank the Inspector General of Police. He gave me the opportunity to be the 45th Commissioner of Police of Ondo State. And at the peak of the security challenge we had in this state, I know how I got in touch with him.
“And he made logistics and technical support available to us, which went a long way in, assisting us to have most of the breakthrough we’ve had.
“I equally want to thank him for his patience. It’s on record, there’s never been a time, even despite the time we had all these security challenges, that he ever in any way threatened.
“In his usual manner, he will give you words of encouragement. So again, I want to thank him for that. I also appreciate the Governor of Ondo State, His Excellency Dr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa for the support given to us by the Ondo State in helping us to check some of the security challenges we’ve had.”
On his posting, Afolabi explained that “I want to put it like this, that for those of us who are professionals, posting is a normal thing. And I shared it with some of my officers this morning, that maybe because of my background, because in my days as a PMA personnel, no matter how good or no matter how fantastic that posting may be, after three or four months, you have to leave. So that becomes part and parcel of me.”
While taking over the command, the new commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, commenced his predecessor for “what you’ve been able to do in this command.
“I’ve seen it as a very big shoe, but I have the confidence that with the management team around me and with the support of the good people of Ondo State, we are going to take up the challenge.
“I’ve taken the responsibility, it’s a challenge. I want to assure everybody that I will live up to expectations. All I request is the support of everyone, the stakeholders, because security is not sole responsible of police. So I’ll call on all the stakeholders, the military, civil defense, non-state actors to give all the support that you gave my predecessor.
“The areas where we need to address, where we need to re-strategize, he has briefed me, and we are going to work on those areas.”
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