The Police have confirmed the arrest of 3,619 suspects over alleged offences of terrorism, secessionism, kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and proliferation of firearms across the country.

The Inspector-eneral of Police (I-G), Mr Usman Baba said this in Abuja during a meeting with Strategic Police Manager, consisting of officers from the rank of Commissioners of Police and above.

He said 316 kidnap victims were rescued with 486 assorted firearms, consisting of AK-47 rifles and locally fabricated automatic weapons recovered during various police operations between January and May.

The I-G said 4,072 assorted calibers of live ammunition and other incriminating items linked to various major crimes were also recovered from the suspects.

He said available statistics had shown that the internal security situation of the country had relatively been calm in the last five months.

Baba said the security situation had continued to improve with a decline in incidences of major crimes recorded across the six geopolitical zones.

According to him, excluding the electoral offences during the last electioneering process in Nigeria, we recorded a total of 1,630 cases which cut across major offences.

He said in spite of the successes recording that, there were still projected security threats across the country, including the aftermath of the fuel subsidy removal with the emerging threat of industrial action.

Baba said the police would not rest on its oars, but must redouble its efforts to maintain the needed peace and stability of the country’s democracy, particularly, with preparations for June 12, Democracy Day.

“I charge you all to remain focused while monitoring the election tribunals and the proposed industrial actions across the country.

“You must develop proactive crime management mechanisms to forestall any untoward acts from political and non-political actors,” he said.

He said the Nigeria Police was duty bound to align with the security policy and initiatives of the new Federal Government administration that requires all security agencies to adopt contemporary security measures.

Baba said the security measures include effective synergy and collaboration with other sister security agencies and the intelligence community.

The I-G said the Federal Government had directed that there must be no form of discordance or cross-purpose activities that would engender inter-agency rivalry in the fight against crimes and criminality.

“I, therefore, implore you all to sustain your official engagements with other sister security agencies and stakeholders within your Areas of Responsibilities (AORs).

 “The idea is to achieve a Whole of Society approach towards mitigating crimes in our beloved country,” he said.

Baba cautioned the senior officers against the menace of criminalising civil matters.

He said the police had maintained a stand and rolled out several directives and correspondences in this regard.

He said the directives had been to abreast officers on the need to streamline investigations and to caution officers and men against meddling with civil matters.

The I-G said such matters include land cases, debt collection, matrimonial case and matters already pending in court. (NAN)

The Flag Officer Commanding the Eastern Naval Command, Rear Adm Olusola Oluwagbire, has expressed the commitment of the command to continually ensure the protection of Nigeria’s territorial waters.

The Commander gave the commitment on Thursday during the ceremonial Sunset signaling the end of Nigerian Navy 67th anniversary at the Navy Ship Victory Parade Ground, Calabar.

He described the out gone year an eventful one, and that the command, inspite of some challenges, was not found wanting in the area of performance.

He stressed that the command would continue to discharge its duties in line with the directive of the Chief of Naval Staff.

Oluwagbire pointed out that the 68th years of the Nigerian Navy would be a significant one, as the nation also had a new President and Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces.

“This 67th Sunset is particularly significant in the sense that as it marks the end of a year, it also ushers in new year.

“While we will continue to discharge our duties according to the directive of the Chief of Naval Staff, I want to particularly commend the officers of the Eastern Naval Commanded for their commitment and dedication to duties,” he stated.

The Sunset ceremony has been an age-long tradition used to mark the end of activities of the Navy in a particular year and also ushers in a new year.

Oluwagbire said that the Nigerian Navy had never missed this tradition in 68 years, except during the civil war in the country.

At this year’s event in Calabar were the heads of other sister security agencies in Cross River.

The General Officer Commanding (GOC) 1 Division Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Olufemi Akinjobi, says strengthening inter-agency cooperation and capacity is vital to the success of counter-terrorism operations.

Akinjobi made the remarks on Friday at a seminar organised for members of Junior Course 95 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC), Jaji.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Imperatives of joint Counter Terrorism, Counter Insurgency (CTCOIN) training for operational efficiency at the tactical level’.

The seminar is an annual event for mid-level officers of the armed forces and other security agencies as well as relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The GOC stressed that in countering the threats of insurgency and terrorism which Nigeria has battled for over 15 years, there must be very strong inter-agency cooperation.

“Maximum successes would not have been realised through the effort of any single service, hence the joint training,”  he added.

According to the GOC, joint training promotes unity of efforts, reduces wasteful duplications and helps to maximise core competencies of the various services.

“This ensures that one service leverages the strength of the other in the pursuit of a unified purpose.

“The current fight against terrorism and other forms of insurgency such as Operation Hadin Kai and Operation Hadarin Daji underscores this fact,” Akinjobi said.

He therefore urged the participants to take the lessons from the seminar seriously.

Akinjobi advised the college to harmonise the recommendations, observations and decisions reached into a working document and present it to appropriate authorities for approval and implementation.

Earlier, the Commandant of the College, AVM Emmanuel Wonah, said the seminar was a culmination of series of lectures packaged to broaden the knowledge of the students on the conduct of CTCOIN operations.

He said it was meant to engender deliberate and systematic approach in tackling insurgency and terrorism, as some of the participants would return to their theatres after the course.

Wonah said that the knowledge acquired would enable them to plan, execute and monitor progress of operations.

“In the course of this seminar, more perspectives will be provided by our resource persons to consolidate the lessons of earlier lectures.

“It is hoped that the seminar will bring out lessons that would assist the Armed Forces of Nigeria for seamless CTCOIN operations,” he added.(NAN)