By Christopher Oji
THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, said the police were closing in on the militant leader Government
Ekpemukpolo (aka Tompolo) who was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently.
at the weekend in Lagos during the inaugural edition of The New Telegraph Achievers Award held in honour of former Inspector General of Police, Sir Mike Okiro,
tagged: “An evening with Okiro’, said, “we cannot tell you the exact time, we will pick him, but we are closing in on him.”
He said if Tompolo failed to give himself up and decides to run out of the country, the force would contact the International Police (INTERPOL). “But what I am assuring Nigerians is that Tompolo will soon be arrested.
Earlier, Sir Okiro said the recruitment of 10,000 persons into the force, as promised by the Federal Government, would commence next month.
Okiro who lamented the shortage of manpower, poor funding and neglect of the police by past government said the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should do something drastic to save the force. He said robust funding was needed to effectively fight sundry crimes rocking the country.
While lamenting the increasing rate of crime in the country, Okiro said the present government has shown signs and serious commitment to equip the police and other security agencies.
He however, urged security agencies to rise above board in the discharge of their duties.
Okiro who initiated the amnesty programme in the Niger Delta said during his tenure as IGP he recruited 15,646 men and women into the force promoted 4,443 officers and men and also recruited 82 aircraft engineers and 20 pilots. We treated 1,142 disciplinary matters against officers and men of the force,” he said.
He commended the media for their contribution in shaping the society and urged them to do more by rallying round the Federal Government in its war against corruption and tackling the economic crisis confronting the country.