No fewer than 100 kidnap kingpins and 80 cultists have so far been apprehended since the incumbent Commissioner of Police assumed office in Kwara State, with many of them cooling their heads at the Ilorin Correctional Facility.
Kwara State Commissioner of Police, CP Victor Olaiya psc(+) disclosed this while featuring in the September edition of the Guild of Digital Journalists (GDJ) monthly round table in Ilorin, the State Capital.
At the media round table, which had in attendance, Editors and publishers of member platforms, the CP stated that kidnapping, cultism and culpable homicide are some of the crimes peculiar to Kwara state.
According to him, during his initial 6 weeks in office, tremendous energy was committed into cracking down on the cultists who were in their large numbers in the society.
“Between May and September, 80 cultists were apprehended, sent to court for trial and many are in custody of the correctional centers”
CP Olaiya stated further that during the same period, over 100 kidnap kingpins were apprehended and several of their syndicates smashed.
In display of a firm grip and mastery of the crime situation in Kwara State, the CP furnished his listeners with demographic statistics of the crime situation in the state.
Homicide, which he identified as a third peculiar crime to the State was not that prevalent, and he was quick to point out that 85% of reported culpable homicides in the state were among the fulanis residing in the state.
In appraisal, he stated that crime and criminals has drastically reduced in the state since he assumed office.
He noted that officers and men of the State Police Command are leaving no stone unturned in wiping out crimes and criminalities across the state.
The Commissioner also hinted that Nigeria Police would soon commence deployment of Information Technology to aid surveillance and intelligence gathering towards curbing crimes.
CP Olaiya warned criminals to steer clear of the State and expressed zero tolerance for crimes.
The CP commended the Guild of Digital Journalists for their avowal and commitment to stamping out fake news in the digital media space. He cautioned the populace against spread of fake news guarding against misinformation, malinformation and disinformation in society.