Imasuangbon advocates state policing as solution to insecurity

Against the backdrop of rising insecurity and criminality in the country, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Kenneth Imansuangbon, yesterday, said it was time for government to heed the call for state police, insisting it was the solution to insecurity.

Speaking to newsmen in Benin City, Imasuangbon said a well-funded state police would allow intelligence gathering and possible prevention of crime before it occurs.

He also called on the citizen not to leave the work of policing solely alone for the police, noting that citizen participation in security would have prevented the easy escape of armed robbers, unchallenged.

Imasuangbon, who was reacting to last week’s bank robberies in Uromi, headquarters of Esan North Council, commiserated with victims of the attacks and people of Uromi.

He said the coordinated attacks showed that the armed robbers carried out diligent intelligence on the area.

Imasuangbon called on locals to always give accurate and timely information to the police whenever they suspected any movement in their vicinity.

“From what I saw from the short video clip on the robbery in the social media, it was clear that the robbers had a field day. It is time for the citizen to be actively involved in community policing and intelligence gathering.

“As citizens, we should take a cue from what is happening in Ukraine where courageous citizens rise up in defence of their country against Russian military.

“The Edo State Government is doing its best to curb insecurity in the state. There is need for all of us to support the state to fight crime because Edo State belongs to all of us.”