Sunday 18092016

PAGE 32—SUNDAY VANGUARD, SEPTEMBER 18, 2016,
POWER OF INTELLIGENCE GATHERING
How we use local
chiefs to smoke out
cultists, kidnappers,
armed robbers
—Ibifuro – Harrison, Ondo police chief
T
he Commissioner of
Police in-charge of Ondo
State, Hilda Ibifuro-
Harrison, seems to be giving
her male colleagues in the force
a big challenge. Her activities
have proved she is equal to the
task of policing any part of this
country. She has traversed many
states in the country including
Rivers, Edo, Bayelsa and Lagos,
where she headed the Ports
Authority Police before being
posted to Ondo. She bares her
mind to our Crime Editor,
Emma Nnadozie.
Excerpts:
Initial challenges
I assumed office as
Commissioner of Police, Ondo
State on March 14, 2016.
Immediately after taking over, I
did an assessment of the
Command’s state of
preparedness to tackle crimes
such as kidnapping, armed
robbery and secret cult activities,
particularly among students of
tertiary institutions in the state.
This was with a view to setting
my priorities. I discovered I had
a huge challenge as there were
limited patrol vehicles,
inadequate personnel and low
morale, amongst others.
However, I had to start from
somewhere, and so far, we thank
God.
Surmounting the challenges
We have been able to surmount
the challenges through efficient
coordination and mobilisation of
manpower as well as materials in
the Command. Considerable
support from the state
government and the Force
Headquarters, particularly
logistic support in terms of
donation and release of
operational vehicles have aided
very tremendously our patrol
efforts in crime prevention.
Predominant crimes and how
they are tackled
As I said earlier, kidnapping,
armed robbery and cultism are
about the crimes of concern to
the Command, but, as I also
said, the Command has been
tackling them with considerable
success recorded, owing to the
concrete measures, including
robust vehicular patrol and the
oiling of the Command’s
There has been nothing
extra-ordinary, but we
studied our
environment and its
peculiarity, and
designed crime
prevention and
detection approaches,
using available
manpower optimally
intelligence machinery, that we
took.
People’s response to crime
fighting efforts
The good people of Ondo State
have been quite responsive and
cooperative in the fight against
crime and criminality in the state.
Traditional rulers and various
other stakeholders, including
paramount/ community chiefs,
vigilante groups, transport
unions, hunters and some very
patriotic individuals, have been
assisting the Command with
credible information and ideas
that have contributed to the
modest successes recorded.
Magic wand
There is, indeed, no magic. It’s
God that gives wisdom and
knowledge for doing things.
There has been nothing extraordinary,
but we studied our
environment and its peculiarity,
and designed crime prevention
and detection approaches, using
available manpower optimally. In
security matters, there is no quick
fix. Leadership is provided and
proactive steps taken and, of
course, the result is positive.
That is what you are seeing.
Coping with politicians and
government in the state
•CP Hilda Ibifuro-Harrison
The duties of the police are
clearly spelt out in the
Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria 1999 as
amended and Section 4 of the
Police Act Cap.P19 Laws of the
Federation, 2004. Ours is to
ensure that law and order is
maintained. We relate with
politicians purely along the lines
of our statutory and professional
duties. With regards to the
government in the state, our
relationship has been basically
on the cardinal issue of security.
Synergy with other security
agencies in fighting crime
Right from my assumption of
duty in the state, I made it one of
my first priorities to foster and
promote a very healthy and
robust inter- agency cooperation
with all sister security agencies.
And to actualise that, I embarked
on courtesy visits to all the
security agencies in the state
without exception. I can tell you,
without mincing words, that I
enjoy very fantastic cooperation
and synergy with them.
Readiness to face crime
challenges
Like every other command in
the country, lack of equipment
and manpower has been our
albatross in fighting crime and
criminality. It is no secret that
some criminals tend to wield
more sophisticated weapons
which make them a lot more
daring in their acts. However,
the Command, with the
cooperation of the good people
and government of Ondo has
continued to haunt and smoke
criminal elements away from the
state.
Checking excesses of
policemen in the state
To be honest, since my
assumption of duty in the
Command, there has not been
any significant report of
excesses on the part of my
personnel. And, as a matter of
fact, during my familiarisation
tour of the Area Commands and
Divisions in the Command, I
warned that I have zero
tolerance for corruption,
overzealousness and act of
incivility to members of the
public. Therefore, I gave my
GSM number across the state
and went further to constitute
the Provost Section of the
Command i.e. the Disciplinary
Arm, and appointed a seasoned
senior officer as head to deal
with all cases of misconduct and
indiscipline against erring
officers. In addition, I held
lectures with members of the
Police Community Relations
Committee (PCRC) and
solicited their cooperation in
checking any acts of
indiscipline by police officers.
Their assistance in this regard
has been quite commendable.
Future challenges and legacy
You are aware that Ondo State
governorship election comes up
on November 26. Strategic
security decisions have been
taken to ensure the election is
conducted in a violence- free
environment. And, as Chairman
of the Inter-Agency
Consultative Committee on
Election Security (ICCES), I
have drawn up the Command’s
plan for the security of the state
before, during and after the
election. The personnel are
being sensitised on their role.
On the other hand, however,
request has been made to the
Force Headquarters for the
posting of more personnel to
the Command and the supply of
necessary equipment for
effective policing of the state. I
would like to be remembered for
being professional in the
conduct of my policing duties.
C
M
YK