…Promises to sustain progress, strengthen advocacy against drug abuse
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said the state government’s synergy with security agencies has reduced kidnapping along the Benin-Auchi Expressway, assuring that government will continue to review its strategies in sustaining the development.
The governor said this while reviewing the state of security in Edo, after a joint security meeting with heads of various security agencies in the state, at the Government House in Benin City.
He said, “The reports considered showed that the security environment in Edo is relatively calm. Quite a lot of steps have been undertaken to make sure that incessant kidnapping and armed robbery along the Benin-Auchi Expressway is handled and brought under control.
“We have seen a considerable reduction in incidents of kidnapping in that axis. We have seen a few more cases in the Uromi-Agbor axis and that is being worked on. Another issue that was considered was a report on drug abuse by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).”
According to the governor: “With the significant use of drugs and the correlation between the areas where there is increase in the use of drugs and an increase in crime, we are working with the NDLEA, members of the civil society, religious leaders, non-governmental organisations and the press in strengthening advocacy so that we can highlight the dangers of drug abuse.
“We also received very unfortunate reports about the increase in road accidents. From August 1st, 2021 alone, to date, we recorded about eight (8) ghastly motor accidents and about seven people died from those accidents. We directed that further investigation should be carried out so that we can reduce the recurrence of situations like that,” he added.
In his remarks, Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Phillip Ogbadu, while reviewing the security environment in the state, said the police had undertaken various operations and reports have shown that it is safer to reside in Edo than in any other part of the country.
He noted, “Incidence of kidnapping is very low. Whenever robbery incidents happen, we arrest the suspects. All other crimes are well curtailed. We are working with the Federal Road Safety Corps to reduce road crashes in the state.”
