Ogun State Police Command has beefed up security around expatriates in the state over a recent kidnapping and subsequent murder of a French national, Christian Pelarmorgues, a staff of Lafarge Cement WAPCO on Tuesday.
This is as the elder brother to the Ebonyi State governor’s wife and his political strategist, Chris Nwankwo, was abducted by suspected kidnappers.
In a statement issued by Ogun State Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Patrick Dukumor, “the death of Christian Pelarmorgues, though unfortunate, could have been avoided if he had availed himself of the services of the armed policemen permanently stationed at WAPCO premises (in Ewekoro Local Government) to provide cover for the expatriate staff.
The command said security has been beefed up around all foreign nationals and their businesses, emphasising that the number of armed policemen deployed to the two WAPCO factories in Ewekoro and Sagamu has been increased.
According to the statement, “all expatriate staff working in the state is hereby advised to avail themselves of police security during their movements within the state.
“Vehicular patrols have been stepped up. Stop and routine checks on vehicles has been ordered, and the mobile policemen have been posted to strategic locations with stern warning to be firm and courteous to members of the public.”
The DCP assured foreign nationals and the general public that there was no cause for alarm, urging them to be vigilant and report all suspicious movements to the police.
Meanwhile, the political structure of Ebonyi State governor, Martin Elechi, was on Wednesday shaken as the elder brother to the governor’s wife and his political strategist, Chris Nwankwo, was abducted by those suspected to be kidnappers.
The suspected kidnappers were said to have whisked off the man from his farm in his Izzi community, Izzi Local Government area and taken to Cross River State.
Nwankwo, one-time Secretary to the State Government in the old Anambra State, who was shortly after, released by abductors in their hideout in Cross River State, told our reporter that “it was terrible. These people had no house, we were in a tick forest, and it was terrible”.