Edo State Public Security and Safety Commission has expressed its readiness to provide optimal security services towards ensuring peaceful yuletide celebrations in the state in line with the commission’s mandate of guaranteeing safety for all.
The Commissioner, Edo State Public Safety and Security Commission, Hon. Kingsley Uwagbale, who stated this in an exclusive interview with The Nigerian Observer in his office in Benin City, the Edo State capital, explained that with the intelligence synergy in the state and leveraging technology, the commission was geared up to maintain law and order and ensure a step-up in security ahead of the yuletide.
“When you talk about security, one sure way to handle it is to have all the agents of government involved in security, we call them first responders, to work together. Once they work together, you have achieved 70 per cent of security,” Hon. Uwagbale said.
He explained that the intelligence synergy cuts across every agency saddled with the responsibility of security and safety, including the vigilantes.
Speaking on the recently launched short codes for emergencies in the state, Hon. Uwagbale assured of prompt response to all distress calls and messages from the command centre with no hidden charges from any network.
“We have launched two short codes where, once you’re in any part of Edo State, you have an emergency, you can call that number and people will respond to you. You can send a message to the code. If you can’t call, God forbid somebody is trying to break your head, and you start shouting or making calls, they will break it quicker and faster. So, you can send a distress message, we see it and respond promptly,” he said.
Recall that during the Edo State Security Summit in Benin City on 7 December, the state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, launched the Edo Command and Control Centre as well as the short codes 739 and 112 for emergencies.
At the launch, Obaseki described crime and security as local, saying, “Until we have a decentralized legislative framework to allow component parts to take policing to a certain level and ensure active collaboration between federal/central agencies and local agencies, we will not succeed in fighting criminality”.
Speaking further, Hon. Uwagbale said that there would be increased surveillance leveraging technology to reduce crime rate in the state.
“We also have state-of-the-art cameras at strategic parts of Edo State now where we can begin to see how things are done. And, of course, we have other equipment, like the command centre that has been launched,” Uwagbale said.
“Security is first and foremost a feeling. It is a well-being. When you fly abroad, you have this sense that you are safe. Once you go, it doesn’t matter where you are, but somehow you just feel, ‘Oh, I’m safe here’. You are in Government House, you feel safe. So, first of all, we’re trying to create a sense of safety across board,” he said.
The Commissioner stressed that the desperation, state of hopelessness and defeat as yuletide season approaches naturally lead to increase in crime.
“We are aware of that. So we are also stepping up our game to ensure that we increase our surveillance. And we show that the police have what we call the ‘show of force’ when they go to various parts of the state to show that they can arrest,” he said.
He also appealed to the general public to be patient during security checks during the yuletide season as number of checkpoints would be increased across the state to ensure peace and checkmate crime.
“We are going to increase our security checks because we expect increase in human activity and all that, so expect to see increased checkpoints as the yuletide comes in. It’s expected. Like I always tell people, I expect to rather see several police checkpoints between here and there and then get home late instead of getting home in trouble or not even getting home,” Uwagbale said.
He advised residents of the state and those travelling into the state to be security conscious for their own sake and for the sake of their loved ones, saying that crime can only be reduced and not totally eliminated anywhere because crime sometimes comes with a bit of a mental problem.
“I will also advise people to be safe. Your first security is you. We are going to keep you safe. People are hungry across the world, not just in Nigeria. The global economy is in distress. So, it’s up to you to know what you put out there to people, because the more you show, the more you attract people,” Uwagbale said.
“So, try and keep things down a bit. Calm down. Take care of your own security. Be careful where you go to. If you think a place is not safe, you don’t have to go there. You have to be safe. But we will try the best we can to ensure that should there be any problem, you call us, we’ll respond promptly,” he said.
