‘State Police, Not Answer To Insecurity’

The creation of state police will not offer solution to the problem of insecurity in the country, the Adviser to Ebonyi Governor on Internal Security,  Mr Collins Agbo has said.

Speaking in an interview Agbo said the establishment of well-organised vigilance groups at community level would help in tackling criminal activities.

According to him, criminal elements live and interact with the people and that unless their activities are exposed they will remain threats to the society.

“Criminals are not ghosts neither do they live in holes; they live and interact with us. “If we are honest with ourselves and expose criminals in our midst crime will be reduced in the society,’’ he said.

He said that state police would not solve the problem of internal security as many states would not have adequate resources to equip and maintain their own police outfit.

Agbo said that available records revealed that policemen had not been effective in policing their communities as they always shielded their kith and kin involved in criminal acts.

Meanwhile, the Police in Ebonyi confirmed that one person was killed when unknown persons attacked the police at Ishiagu in Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Sylvester Igbo said that the police had gone to Ishiagu to effect the arrest of some armed robbery suspects when they were ambushed.

He said one Simeon Okorie reported that he was robbed of N1.5million at his office located at Crushed Rock Ishiagu by three men in the area.

“We have been on the case and been going for arrest but no success was recorded as the suspects always disappeared anytime they learnt that the police were in the area. “When we eventually arrest of one of the suspects and was conveying him to the station, the other suspects laid ambush for us. “They used iron barricade and attacked the police van with machetes while others opened fire on the police.

“The police, acting in self-defence, fired back at them and in the process, two persons were shot and one of them later died,” he said.

He said the wind screen of the police van was smashed in the incident, while the police recovered one locally-made pistol and expended cartridges from them.

The President General, Ishiagu Community Development Union (ICDU), Mr Stanley Anyim, expressed regrets over the killing.