Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has approved the allocation of land to the Nigeria Police Zone 16 Command for the construction of its administrative and residential facilities.
The governor gave the approval on Tuesday during a courtesy visit by the newly posted Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of the zone, Johnson Adenola, alongside the Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu, and other senior officers at Government House, Yenagoa.
Diri directed the Ministry of Lands and Survey and the Secretary to the State Government to work closely with the command to provide a suitable site in the state capital.
“It has been five years since you have been operating from your temporary office, which was provided by the state government. Your request for land is hereby granted. I direct the Commissioner for Lands and Survey and the Secretary to the State Government to liaise with the zone to allocate a befitting land to the command in Yenagoa,” the governor said.
He described the location of the Zone 16 headquarters in Yenagoa, which oversees Bayelsa and Rivers States, as a pride to Bayelsa, noting that it had significantly boosted security in the state.
The governor also commended AIG Adenola for acknowledging his long-standing concerns on the issue of indiscriminate police checkpoints on highways.
“Listening to you, clearly you have come hitting the ground running. You are already aware of my concerns as indicated in your speech that l am averse to police road blocks. Every 50 metres, there is a checkpoint and yet these police road blocks do not check crime and criminality. I am glad we have an AIG who is not going to be part of roadblocks,” Diri said.
He urged security agencies to strengthen intelligence gathering and embrace non-kinetic measures in tackling insecurity, stressing that crime prevention should be prioritised over reactionary measures.
“For me, it is better to avert crime than to go about carrying guns to look for criminals. Let us use more intelligence and technology,” he added.
The governor highlighted efforts of his administration in deploying technology-driven security strategies, including the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras across Yenagoa and the use of drones for surveillance.
Earlier in his remarks, AIG Adenola, who assumed duty last month as the 11th head of Zone 16, pledged his commitment to effective policing and partnership with the state government.
“I came to pledge my loyalty and support to the efforts of the state government in ensuring peace and tranquillity in the state. We are making an effort to have better policing and ensure a people-friendly and rule of law-compliant force,” Adenola stated.