By Idahosa Musa
Newly deployed Commissioner of Police in Edo State, CP Monday Agbonika, on Thursday, assured that there will not be any reprisal attacks arising from the killing of the 16 Kano-bound hunters in Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of the state.
He gave the assurance during his visit to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo State Council.
Mr. Agbonika said the state governor has done a lot in dousing the tension that would have arisen from the killings by leading a delegation to the North to see the families of the deceased
“I can tell you that a lot of measures have been taken about the Uromi case and we can say that, we are not expecting any reprisal attacks in respect of the Uromi incident.
“The governor of Edo state, His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, he has done a lot on Uromi case alone because when I first came, we went to Uromi together.
“Before then, he went to Kano State and to console with the people of Kano State and to ask them to talk to their people in Edo State not to carry out any attack.
“And as a matter of fact, I can tell you that because of his visit, he succeeded in convincing the governor of Kano State to come to Edo State.
“And so, the deputy governor of Kano State paid a visit to Edo State on behalf of the government of Kano state.
‘We went to Uromi where we spoke with all the stakeholders in Uromi, including the Hausa community, the Esan community.
“The visit and other actions the governor took have been able to appeased the people and has set the records right.
“We can be sure that there is going to be peace there and in addition to that, I felt that we could not just stay on Uromi alone, we also have the neighbouring communities that also have a high number of northern settlers.
“So, I stayed back and I went around to all the state. I went up to Igara. I went to Auchi and I met the communities there and of course, I told them that what has happened has happened and that we must continue to live in peace.
“And I have been assured by their leaders that they are going to continue to live in peace as they have been living. So, I think that problem is solved”, Agbonika said.
While assuring the people of the state of adequate policing, the police boss called for the volunteering of information that could help the police stem the tides of crime and criminality in the state.
“Now, as part of my strategies, I am pushing out all the police men in the state. Let everybody go and patrol and go to the criminal hideouts.
“So we are taking the war everywhere but I need the support of people. I need your cooperation, and I need you to give us the benefits of doubt and see what is going to happen in the next three months”, Agbonika added.
On the part of the NUJ chairman, Edo State Council, Dr. Festus Alenkhe, he assured the new Commissioner of Police of adequate cooperation for the command to be able to win the war against crime and criminality in the state.
He however called on the police to always make information available to the Journalists in the state to enable them carry out their job effectively in the state.
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