Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The Ekiti State police command has set up a special squad to combat banditry, kidnapping and other forms of crime occasionally perpetrated across borders in the state.  
Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the new Commissioner of Police, Ekiti Command, Tunde Mobayo, said the spontaneous cases of robbery, banditry and kidnapping were being perpetrated across borders.
Mobayo promised to work with all legal security networks in the state; like the Amotekun Corps, Vigillante group and the peace corps, to promote community policing provided that they were backed by laws.
The CP, who succeeded Asuquo Amba, who was recently promoted to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police said : “When I resumed office in Ekiti, I asked about the type of crime that is prevalent here, I inquired from my people.
“Ekiti State is one of the most fortunate states where crime rate is low. But the type of crimes we normally have here are spontaneous ones;  like bank robbery, it is not even frequent, but we can’t because of this go and sleep.
“We also have occasional cases of kidnapping, but not frequent and we are also going to deal with that. Our strategy has been that we have   identified four major areas in our borders to be given security attention.
” I have established a special squad and provided them with a vehicle and put them out there to be responsive to people on issues of cross border banditry, they are not there to extort money from the citizens.
“The Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu has told us to carry on with community policing in our respective commands. I can’t do it alone. We are going to work with all stakeholders to secure lives and property in Ekiti.
“I have an issue at Imesi Ekiti in Gbonyin now, we are going there to resolve it with the people there, who understand the terrain better than I do, that is in the spirit of community policing that will further make Ekiti safe for all of us.”
The CP warned his men and officers not to be uncivil in their conducts, urging them to exhibit professionalism while dealing with the public in order not give the police a bad and dented image.
“I have told my men that they should be friendly with the people. We are no longer in the old era where you think you can maltreat the people and go scot-free or think the people are not watching what you are doing.
“In the task of making our state safe, I am ready to work with all security networks that have legal backings from the local government to the state level provided it is the state that set such outfit up, we are ready to recognise and abide by it as long as it doesn’t contravene the federal law .”