The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, on Monday, described Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State as a dogged crime fighter who had made the state unsafe for criminals to thrive.
The IGP, who spoke during his visit to Kogi State on Monday said the governor made life miserable for criminal elements which forced them out of the state.
Alkali Baba explained that the Kogi governor was one governor that would never raise the alarm of not being in control of security in his state, adding that from what he had observed, the governor “leads from the front.”
He added that he was happy that Governor Bello was playing the role of the “real Chief Executive Officer” in terms of security, noting that he is “a dependable ally in the battle against national insecurity.”
According to him: “I’ve never heard him crying that he doesn’t have control of security in his state. That is because he is able to synergize and cooperate with all the security agencies as well as lead from the front. Security is everybody’s business. When you have a leader who is leading from the front, others will follow. That is what is happening in Kogi.
“Many of the crimes being committed by sons and daughters of Kogi are not even being committed in Kogi but outside Kogi, because they have no place in Kogi State again.
“We have people like His Excellency who are supporting our cause. My sincere gratitude to His Excellency for being proactive about security. I can’t remember how many times he has visited the force headquarters, not for himself because he has no reason to; but in his efforts to protect his people. I don’t know how many governors do this.”
In his address, Governor Bello reiterated the readiness of his administration to resist attempts by some desperate politicians to plunge the state into the pre-2015 era of insecurity in the guise of playing politics.
The governor said a credible intelligence report at the disposal of the state government had revealed that the actions of some politicians were capable of truncating the peace currently enjoyed in the state, stressing that his administration would not allow insecurity to be smuggled into Kogi through the “boot of politics.”
