Hard Times Await Criminals In Bayelsa

Bayelsa State Gov­ernor, Seriake Dickson over the weekend an­nounced his administra­tion’s plans to put in place mechanisms in the river­ine areas towards stem­ming the tide of criminal activities, such as crude oil theft and illegal refin­eries.

Dickson said this while granting audience to heads of various security agen­cies in the state, including the new Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Com­mand, Paul Okafor, Air Offi­cer Commanding, Mobility Command, Air Vice Mar­shal Francis Bassey Nyoyo­ko and the State Command­er of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Mr Ruth Obi in Government House, Yenagoa.

While expressing govern­ment’s commitment to mak­ing the state a safe haven for residents and investors, the governor called on those engaged in various forms of criminality and brigandage to desist forthwith, as secu­rity agencies would spare no efforts to bring the culprits to justice.

His words: “You are coming to Bayelsa State at a time of increased politi­cal activities. And so all that we ask is that, you and your officers and men should do your utmost best to enforce the laws as they are and hold the ballast so that the rest of society can keep its proper boundaries and limits.

Dickson, who observed that the posting of the new Commissioner of Police to the state was coming at a time when political activi­ties were on the increase, expressed his administra­tion’s support for the se­curity personnel to enable them perform their duties optimally.

On the need to speed up criminal justice in the state, he directed the Commis­sioner for Justice and Attor­ney General of the state and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security to li­aise with the Nigeria Police towards ensuring that cases were properly investigated and suspects charged to court.

Dickson, while speak­ing on the renovation of the NDLEA office, directed the Commissioner for Works to speed up action because the mission of the Command was central to the Restora­tion Vision Agenda of his ad­ministration.

He said: “The drug war you are waging is central to our policy of zero toler­ance on violence, brigand­age and crime. Our position as a government on law and order is very well known. I agree with you that there is a nexus between drug abuse and the prevalence of cer­tain types of crimes in the state, particularly crimes of violent nature.

And so, we will work with you to ensure that through your advocacy programmes and proactive and effective enforcement actions, drug abuse and other associated criminal activities would be a thing of the past.

“I want to assure you of my administration’s pre­paredness to support and encourage you.

“I would like to call on the citizens of this state; par­ticularly the young people to desist from drug addic­tion; I call for support from the public for the work you are here to do.”