Security situation in Edo relatively calm, says Obaseki

Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo, says the security situation in the state is relatively calm, adding that efforts are ongoing to sustain peace.

Obaseki said this at a media briefing on Wednesday, after a joint security meeting with heads of various security agencies — the meeting was to review security-related activities in the state for the month of July.

According to him, a lot has been done to improve the security situation and the reports considered show that the state is relatively calm.

“Quite a lot of activities had been undertaken to make sure that incessant kidnappings and armed robberies on Benin-Auchi road are handled and brought under control,” he said.

“For the month of June, we’ve seen considerable reduction in incidents of kidnapping in that axis; we’ve seen a few more cases in Uromi-Agbor axis and that is being worked on.”

The governor said another issue being considered is a report by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on the incidents of drug abuse in the state.

“We are working with NDLEA, members of the society, civil society organisations, religious leaders, non-governmental organisations and the press in advocacy so that we can highlight the dangers and bring them under control,” he said.

Speaking on road accidents, Obaseki said the government has received very unfortunate reports about increase in crashes.

“From August 1 alone till date, we’ve recorded about eight ghastly motor accidents, with about seven deaths, three of them being policeman,” he said.

“We’ve asked that further investigations be carried out so that we can reduce the recurrence of situations like that.”

Phillip Ogbadu, the state police commissioner, while giving a review of the security situation in the state, also said the situation has improved considerably.

Ogbadu said that the police have undertaken various operations and that reports have shown that the state is safe for residents.

“Kidnapping is very low; we have recorded only two for this month. Whenever robbery incidents happen, we arrest those involved, while all other crimes have been well-curtailed,” he said.

“We are also working with Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to reduce road crashes in the state.”