The indigenes of Edo State under the Concerned Citizens of Edo State have called on the State’s Commissioner of Police, Mr Haliru Gwandu, to obey redeployment order on him by the Police Service Commission (PSC).
They alleged that his “gross incompetence” has reenforced criminals freedom to cause mayhem and senseless killings in the state.
In a protest which commences from Edo House to the Louis Edet House and the National Assembly complex in Abuja, on Monday, they decried the insistence of the Commissioner of Police in Edo State, Mr Gwandu, to hold on to his office after being posted out of the command about three months ago.
They called on the presidency, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, and the National Assembly, to prevail on him to obey PSC posting and leave the state.
National Daily gathered that a letter addressed to leaders of the National Assembly and the Presidency and signed by its coordinator, Hon. Henry Okpamen, said “We, the concerned citizens of Edo State, are gathered here today to share our pains with Mr President, the President of Senate and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and all their members on the worsening security situation in our State.
“While the Governor and his Cabinet, with the cooperation from the revered Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, are working round the clock to encourage investments into Edo State, the Inspector General of Police has refused to support the government of Edo State in this effort.
They reiterated the urgent need to overhaul the security architecture considering that the centrality of Edo State makes it vulnerable to people from different parts of the country, who perpetrates these crimes.
Okada, Okpella, Ekenwan, Auchi-Ekpoma-Benin axis of the state are flashpoints of crime, hence there is the need to respond swiftly and intelligently by policing the nooks and crannies of the state.
The Group further expressed shock over what they described as “Gwandu colluding with the IGP to ensure that the CP that was posted about three months ago by the PSC, did not leave the state to resume at his new place of deployment.
They stated that the posting, which was contained in a release by the PSC on July 5, 2017, has left many in Edo confused because, though one Mr Johnson Babatunde Kokumo was announced Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr Haliru Gwandu and his cohorts still hold sway in the state.
While saluting previous commissioners to have worked assiduously to check criminal activities in the state to the extent to neutralising flashpoints, they explained that Mr Gwandu was “lethargic and showing nonchalant attitude” to his job and security in the state.
“The incompetence of Mr Gwandu came to the fore in March 2017, when a former Council Chairman of Etsako East, Hon. Suleiman Malik Afegbua and some other persons were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen along the Benin-Ehor road. Hon. Afegbua was later killed by the kidnappers.