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Tag: Kayode Egbetokun

  • PDP protests posting of CP Egbetokun to Kwara

    Members and supporters of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday poured into the major streets of Ilorin, the Kwara state capital to protest the recent redeployment of Kayode Egbetokun as the new Commissioner of police to the state.

    They took the peaceful protest from the party secretariat located at the Flower Garden area of the metropolis to the Government House, the state Department of State Service (DSS) office and terminated it at the state police headquarters, along Ahmadu Bello way.

    The protesters claimed they were venting the anger peacefully against the police high command for posting of Mr. Egbetokun to the state ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    The protesters, led by PDP Youth Leader in the state, Prince Haliru Dantsoho, wielded placards with various inscriptions calling for Inspector General of Police Mohammed Adamu and President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the decision.

    Some of the placards read: “CP Kayode must go,’ ‘Kwarans totally reject an APC commissioner,’ ‘Kwara cannot be annexed to Lagos.’”

    Dantoso, who said the people had never protested against deployment of any police commissioner to the state, added that the new CP posed threat to peace in the state.

    According to him: “Egbetokun was one- time chief security officer.

    Read Also: PDP not committed to peace accord, says BMO

    (CSO) to the APC leader, Senator Bola Tinubu. Also, he was

    spontaneously rejected by people of Lagos when he was posted there recently and the deployment was reversed by the acting IGP, Mohammed Adamu.

    “Unfortunately, the same man, who parades himself as APC member has now been posted to Kwara state.

    “It’s a ploy to further intimidate the opposition. You recall how members of opposition were arrested, harassed during by-election into Ekiti Oke Ero Isin Irepodun federal constituency recently.

    “So, with the deployment of Egbetokun, free, fair and credible elections cannot be guaranteed.

    “It’s on this note we frown at the deployment, calling on IGP to immediately redeploy him to other states of their wish and not Kwara state.

    “Kwara has been a peaceful state of harmony since. We don’t want anything that will affect the peace and harmony we’ve been enjoying.

    “So, we call on Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, law enforcement agencies and all stakeholders concerned to consider our request and reverse the deployment to Kwara state.

    “Considering the threat by some APC leaders like Adams Oshiomhole and Alhaji Lai Mohammed to deploy all available resources including security agencies, INEC to ensure they take over power from PDP government administration this deployment of Egbetokun is a confirmation of their threat.”

     

     

  • Election: Police identify flash points, mobilise anti-bomb experts

    …To receive more equipment next week

    As the general elections draw closer, the police on Thursday said they have identified emerging threats and had mobilised Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) personnel to marked areas for necessary action.

    This is just as the service also said it would take delivery of more equipment next week that would further enhance the performance of the anti-bomb experts across the country.

    These disclosures were made by the Commissioner of Police in charge of EOD, Kayode Egbetokun at the department’s first quarterly conference with senior officers and base commanders held in Lagos.

    Themed “emerging threat and strategic coverage of the 2019 election,” Egbetokun said the conference provided an opportunity to review the department’s performance in previous elections as well as brainstorm on how to achieve greater success in the coming elections.

    He said: “We know how important the role of the EOD is in an election. We have looked at what we have to do viz-a-viz our capacity and capability. We know our strength and we have taken care of our weaknesses. We know the external opportunities available to us and we know the threats we are facing.

    “Where we have identified gaps we are closing them. We have put out strategy in place for this election. We have been doing it before and have been succeeding. We are at the conference to put finishing touches to our plan. We will discharge our duties creditably well.

    “By this time next week, we would have taken delivery of additional equipment to boost our operational capacity.

    I cannot disclose our strategy to the public but be assured that we have mobilised additional personnel and will cover the entire country. The threat index available to us has already put us ahead of the criminals.”

    According to the police chief, the EOD department had made steady and sustainable progress in the discharge of its primary duties of detection, identification, evcaution, neutralisation, demolition of discovered UXOs and disposal of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

    “We have conducted IEDs awareness training within and outside the law enforcement communities across the country. The aggregate of our efforts has been to keep criminal use of explosives and other nuclear and radioactive materials at significantly low rate.

    To his men, he said there was no excuse for failure in their assigned roles in the coming elections, reminding them that Nigerians looked up to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Police for a pleasant experience in this election.

    Read Also: Police kill suspected robber in Enugu

    “We know the importance of this role in the attainment of a hitch-free election and there will be no excuse for failure. We must and will deliver on our security mandate in this election.

    “Our goal is to play our role creditably and ensure that the election is hitch-free. We must nip in the bud any plot capable of undermining peaceful conduct of this election. You must always adopt proactive approach that will put you ahead in all your tasks and be prepared for swift response to any emergency in your areas of operation,” he said.

    Egbetokun also charged them to embrace collaboration with personnel from sister agencies that may be deployed along with them during the exercise, adding that their election duties must be within the dictate of the Electoral Act.

    “You must galvanize your men and mobilise all resources towards attainment of peaceful and credible outcome in this election. As the clock of the 2019 election ticks down, my expectation of you is to perform these election security duties professionally to the admiration of the people and use this opportunity to further enhance the reputation of the police EOD and the Nigeria Police in general,” said Egbetokun.

  • Drama as Acting IGP stops Lagos CP hand over

    We work on directives, says Egbetokun

    Reporters waiting for the handing over of the Lagos Police Command Commissioner of Police (CP) office’s paraphernalia by Imohimi Edgal to Acting Commissioner of Police designate, Kayode Egbetokun, witnessed a mild drama on Tuesday at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja GRA.

    The handing over couldn’t hold due to an order from the police headquarters in Abuja.

    Earlier, the reporters were told that the event scheduled for 1:30 pm has been shifted to 3 pm.

    Few minutes past 3 pm, there were jubilations in the Conference Hall where the Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and the Area Commanders, waiting for the briefing by the Acting CP, converged.

    Not quite long, Edgal, who briefed the reporters in company with Egbetokun said: “Gentlemen of the press, are you here for the handing over and taking over? Are you here because you like me or you are eager for me to leave? Well, there is a directive that the status quo should remain till further notice.”

    Edgal told reporters that there is no change of guard for now, as he still remains the state Commissioner of Police.

    “I am sure that Kayode Egbetokun is an old timer in the command. Our first job as police is order and directive; we were about concluding the handing over and taking over procedure when we were instructed by our bosses from Abuja to suspend action for now. So, there is no change of guard for now. Of course, we will keep in touch of latest development,” he said.

    He did not entertain any question.

    Egbetokun, who came with his personal effect and his personal staff, left the command, saying: “We are government agents and we are always taking directives.”

    As Edgal was leaving for Abuja to meet with the Acting Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), Mohammed Adamu, there was gunshot salute.

    Read Also: I remain Lagos CP, says Edgal

    The policemen attached to Edgal’s convoy shot four times into the air to celebrate the “good news.”

    Earlier, the car of Egbetokun was parked at CP’s parking lot while Edgal’s car was parked at another place.

    It was gathered that as the duo was having a closed-door meeting, a phone call believed to be from the IGP’s office came in and directed that the handing and taking over should be cancelled till further notice.

    Immediately, after the announcement, Egbetokun’s vehicle was removed from the CP’s parking lot and Edgal’s vehicle replace

  • Police move to stop criminal use of explosives, others

    The police on Monday said they have commenced plans to contain criminal use of explosives and other dangerous allied materials capable of jeopardizing public safety.
    Already, operatives of the Explosives and Ordinance Disposal (EOD) department of the police have been trained on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threat mitigation as well as effective methods of attacking Improvised Explosives Devices (IED) through improvised special charges.

    At the quarterly conference with senior officers and EOD base commanders, Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of EOD Kayode Egbetokun confirmed the personnel were being trained, retrained to contain current realities.

    He said the command would intensify vigilance at all airports, seaports and border points to prevent illegal importation of explosive devices.

    Speaking on the theme “Excellent service delivery towards a safe and bomb free society,” he said explosives remain the weapon of choice for international and local terrorists organisations as well as deadly armed robbery gangs.

    According to him, CBRN materials were capable of causing great harm and pose significant threats in the hands of terrorists.

    Apart from malicious use of these weaponized or non-weaponized materials, the Commissioner said accidents could occur in the course of usage or transportation which could cause mass casualties.

    Read Also: Police warn vehicle owners

    “It is sad to note that explosives are easily accessible to criminal network and had become a fact of life. This poses a serious threat to internal security and a major challenge to the EOD teams.

    “It is our duty to deter criminal use of explosive and other dangerous allied materials, but the task in our hand is to completely put a stop to it.

    “To combat these threats, the capacity and professionalism of EOD personnel across the country have been strengthened for better service delivery.
    “In the last few months, a lot has been done with respect to capacity building in the command. Our personnel have been exposed to both local and international training on CBRN threat mitigation/special charges.

    The command has also established CBRN offices in three major centers- Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. These centers are saddled with the core professional responsibilities of managing radiological emergencies, monitoring the usage, storage and transportation of hazardous chemical, biological agents and radioactive sources.

    “A good number of our personnel have now been trained and qualified as CBRN frontline officers to undertake escorts and manage security of radioactive emergencies.
    We have established Zonal Workshop Centres in Uyo, Umuahia, Lagos, Minna, Kano and Maiduguri for maintenance of EOD equipment and training of EOD technicians.”

    Egbetokun further said the command was collaborating with agencies such as the National Emergency Managenment Agency (NEMA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA) to develop a framework for prevention and response to CBRN incidents.

    “It gladdens my heart to note that through the effort and leadership of the Inspector General of Police (IG) Ibrahim Idris, the Police EOD is today in good standing. We are blessed with intelligent, well trained and professionally competent officers who can hold their own anywhere in the world. Our Base Commanders in their various State Commands are known to always deliver on critical assignment given to them.”

    “Our actions have been geared towards making leakages of commercial explosives impossible. We will not relent. We will continue to deploy human and technical resources at our disposal to stop criminal use of explosives and allied materials.

    “We will intensify our vigilance at the airports, seaports and border points to deter any illicit importation of explosive and allied materials. We will embark on public enlightenment against criminal use of explosives in our neighborhood, communities, school and on electronics and print media.”

  • Police training school graduates 120

    Police training school graduates 120

    The Commandant, Police Training School (PTS), Ikeja, Kayode Egbetokun, has charged newly certified 120 Supernumerary Police Officers (Spy) to be good ambassadors of the institution, respect the laws or face arrest.

    Egbetokun, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) stated this at the graduation ceremony of the officers, who underwent six weeks of intensive drills designed and approved for the Supernumerary Police Officers by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), under Section 18(a) of the Police Act.

    Egbetokun reminded the trainees that their uniform was a symbol of authority, adding “the warrant card you are carrying confers powers, privileges and immunities of a police officer on you.

    “These powers, privileges and immunities are to be protected and must not be abused. The warrant card is not a licence to drive against traffic; it is a charge to protect the law. You are expected to reflect the discipline you have imbibed in this training both in and out of uniform.”

    Reiterating that Spy Police Officers were not to bear arms, the Commandant said the graduands were not given arms drill, musketry or weapon handling trainings.

    He said: “By law, the Spy Police Officers are recruited and trained for private organisations and public institutions who desire their services. They are by law, members of the Police Force but are not regular police officers.

    “The training curriculum is rich in content and adequate to equip the trainees with the knowledge and skills needed to function effectively as Supernumerary Police in their respective organisations.

    “A typical training day starts at 6am with physical exercise followed by unarmed combat or foot drill, after which trainees are moved to the classrooms for academic work before returning to the field. They usually have only 30 minutes break until 6pm when the training closes.

    “They were taken through courses in professional police, legal, liberal and field studies. At the end of the trainings, an examination, drill test was set followed by the commandant’s interview.

    “None of them was found wanting by the board of interviewers. They have been found worthy both in character and learning and have satisfied all requirements for appointment as Supernumerary Police Officers.”

    On the achievements of the school since he assumed duty in 2015, Egbetokun said his team has been to raise the bar of professionalism, adding that his leadership has zero tolerance for corruption.

    He said the school had organised refresher courses for at least 3,000 officers from Assistant Superintendent of Police to Constable ranks, who he said, had keyed into the Inspector-General of Police’ (IGP) “policing with integrity” vision.

    “We have improved on infrastructure. We have improved oj standard and quality of training. We are turning put top quality products. We have inspired confidence and we rely on our integrity.

    “The former Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Fatai Owoseni engaged us in giving policemen in the command a special training in ethics and professional conducts with the objective of effecting a change in their attitudes and giving them a positive orientation in line with the vision of the IGP, Ibrahim Idris.

    “We have handled this reorientation course with utmost commitment, passion and have recorded huge successes. Over 3,000 of them have been trained with emphasis on values of honesty and transparency, benevolence, expertise and effectiveness.

    “The positive feedback we are getting on those that have attended this reorientation courses has been encouraging.”