Governor Makinde donates patrol Vehicles to Divisional Police Stations

Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde on Thursday handed over 74 patrol vehicles to Divisional Police Stations across the state.

 

The governor also commissioned the new Ojoo Divisional Police Headquarters, Ibadan, which was constructed by the state government following its destruction during the EndSARS protest, which engulfed the country in 2021.

 

While speaking at the commissioning ceremony held at the Ojoo Roundabout in Ibadan, Makinde said his administration would continue to maintain a cordial relationship with the Police and other security agencies.

 

He explained that the cooperation of the security agencies in the state with his administration and the synergy among the Police and other security agencies had ensured that criminality was reduced to the barest minimum in the state.

 

 

The governor also used the occasion to address the outcome of the state’s EndSARS panel, saying he had directed that the report be taken back and reviewed to accommodate policemen who lost their lives in the incident.

Makinde disclosed that the report had been resubmitted to him and he was ready to give it the required attention to ensure that everyone who lost lives and property got adequate compensation.

 

“Let me remind everybody that this time four years ago, I was nearly killed at a spot close to this location. They shot at my vehicle and the bullet impact is still on the bus we used for our campaign that year. Despite that, you came out and voted massively for me. So, I see this as an opportunity to thank you, my good people of Ojoo,” he said.

 

Makinde disclosed that the renovated Police Station at Ojoo is one of the three police stations, including those at Egbeda and Iseyin, destroyed during the #EndSARS protest.

 

The governor said the Police Station in Iseyin, including the shops surrounding it, was extensively damaged but the one at Egbeda was not badly damaged and appreciated the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) for renovating it.

 

He stated: “With this new Police Station here, we are restoring the facilities and also using the opportunity to build and further cement the relationship among the Police, the people and this administration.”

 

Makinde thanked the Nigerian Police, Oyo State Command and other security agencies for their great performance, noting that he gets a daily security report containing issues ranging from robbery to murder, arson and all sorts but in the past one year there had been days that he got security reports that were free of ugly incidents across the state.

The governor, who urged residents to see the new facility as their own, noted that whenever protests were allowed to get to the point of vandalism and destruction of public property, the people would pay for it while the resources meant for other developmental projects would likely be diverted to rebuilding such property.

 

“You already know that I am an advocate of State Police and restructuring and I hope that in the nearest future, we will surely achieve this. But in the meantime, let me pledge to the Nigerian Police and other security agencies in Oyo State that we will continue to support you,” the Governor noted.

 

Earlier, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Command, CP Adebowale Williams, commended the governor for being a visionary leader who is interested in improving the security architecture of the state.

 

He called on the residents of Ojoo to see the new Police station as their property and ensure it is protected at all cost.

 

In his remarks, the Special Adviser on Security Matters to Governor Makinde and a retired Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, stated that the governor had done something unprecedented in the history of security architecture in the state.

 

He explained that the Governor Makinde-led administration had donated more than 500 security vehicles, a feat he noted is uncommon even at the federal level.