Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bala Hassan has said that hostage taking is on the decline in the state. According to Mr Hassan who gave figures to support his assertion, in the last six months, recorded only thirty nine incidents of abduction, while between January and August of the same year there were forty three cases.
Thanking residents of the state for the improved security situation, the Commissioner said they should continue to make timely calls to the police in the event of crime. He said this action from the public was making the police to be more efficient
He continued that to enhance its operations the command had installed tracking devices in all its patrol vehicles.
He explained that with the aid of the devices his office and that of his Area Commanders would be able to effectively monitor the movement of any patrol vehicle going on distress duties in any part of the state.
“With the aid of this device words like, ‘oh we just missed them, so we are combing the area,’ will be over because we will now monitor patrol vehicles as they leave for distress assignments. We will know when they left and when they arrived. So no police vehicle can go outside its route or destination.”
Bala said in the last six months his command has arrested forty eight criminal suspects. Thirty eight of them have been charged to court while eight were convicted. The other thirty, he said, are awaiting trial. He added that ten other robbery suspects were killed.
The Police boss gave a list of items recovered in the last six months from criminal suspects, hoodlums and militants to include seventeen AK 47 riffles, three GPMG, twenty locally made pistols, three brownie pistols, three berretta pistols and one OFN.”
He said the police lost seven of its men within this period. The police boss also noted that the greatest achievement of his command in the last six months were what he termed “greatest bullion van recovery”.
According to him, they recovered a total of N599, 000 at separate bullion van attacks by robbers.
He said the command was poised to ensure residents of the state have a smooth yuletide season.
According to him, the police already have two hundred patrol vehicles on the roads in the state. And patrol boats would be deployed to cater for the water ways.