declining

Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, has reported a downward trend in crime rates across Nigeria, citing official records to support his claim.

IGP Egbetokun spoke to State House correspondents after a security meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

The top Police Chief attributed the decline in crime rates to effective synergy and strategies implemented by security agencies. He vowed to sustain efforts to maintain the downward trend in crime rates.

He further disclosed that President Tinubu charged the various security formations to improve their synergy in securing the country.

He said, “It was a routine security meeting we had with Mr. President, where we had the opportunity of giving him security briefs. We’ve been doing this regularly.

“Mr. President is happy with what we are doing, he’s satisfied with our reports and he has challenged us to continue to work together and improve our synergy.

“As the Inspector-General Police, I have the records of all reported crimes across the country and I can tell you that the crime rate is declining in Nigeria. Records don’t lie, the records are there.

“So I can assure you that we’ll continue to do whatever we are doing to maintain the decline in the crime rate,” Egbetokun said.

Also speaking to journalists after the meeting, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, assured Nigerians that the military was taking steps to restore full oil production, targeting 2.1 million barrels per day in the Niger Delta region.

He warned criminals involved in infrastructure destruction and crude oil theft that their days were numbered, and the military would come after them.

He emphasised the need for collective effort to achieve success, urging all stakeholders, including states and communities, to work together to restore full oil production.

He acknowledged the challenges faced by communities and assured that the President will address the issues to ensure uninterrupted oil production.

General Musa stated that the President was aware of the concerns of communities affected by oil production and has vowed to address their grievances.

“Very well, as usual, you know Nigeria relies a lot on what we produce and his mandate, like we mentioned days back, is for us to restore full production. We are targeting 2.1 million barrels per day, which is achievable. So we’re taking steps to ensure that all that is required to be done is done.

“The President is fully aware of the cries and hues of the communities and he’s not going to let them down. The communities should be rest assured that steps are going to be taken to address their grievances so that productions will continue.

“For the criminals, those ones that are hellbent on destroying our infrastructure, stealing our crude for whatever reason, the days are numbered. They should be rest assured that we’re coming after them.

“I want to assure Nigerians that we all need to put hands together to achieve this success. Nobody can do it alone. No single service, no single individual can do this, we all need to work together, including the states.

“We understand that communities are going through so much and the President is going to address those issues to ensure that we have full production,” General Musa said.

Also at the meeting were the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS) Yusuf Bichi; Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar; Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nanna Nandap, and others.