Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Commissioner of Police, Taraba State command, Alkasim Sanusi, has denied reports in one of the national dailies that kidnappers were on the prowl in Jalingo, insisting that the situation was under control.
In a statement issued in Jalingo on Tuesday and signed by the command’s spokesperson, ASP David Misal, Sanusi said that contrary to the claim by the paper that over 20 cases of kidnapping were recorded within a week in Jalingo metropolis, only seven cases had been recorded since February and all the victims had been successfully rescued by the command.
“The attention of the Nigeria Police Taraba State command has been drawn to the Daily Trust newspaper publication dated 24th April, 2019 captioned ‘Kidnappers on the prowl in Jalingo Metropolis’
“The command wishes to categorically state that the publication of the author did not reflect the true situation on ground and therefore urges the public to discountenance the report.
“To set the record straight, let me make it crystal clear that the postulations in the article were not founded on any empirical evidence or official criminal statistics. We are worried that the report is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public, create fear and undermine the zeal of the security agencies in the state to discharge their arduous duties.
“For the avoidance of doubt, let me state here that from February this year till date only seven cases of kidnapping were recorded in the Jalingo metropolis and all the victims involved have been successfully rescued by security agencies.”
Our correspondent reports that the command has arrested over 20 suspected kidnappers in the last one month as residents of the metropolis are coming to terms with the menace which was hitherto alien to them.