Police warn S/West churches over Boko Haram

•‘Don’t allow phone-charging inside church buildings’

FOLLOWING the discovery of bombs in a building in Lagos State and reports of likely invasion of the South-West region by suspected Boko Haram members, the police have deployed crack teams of policemen to patrol worship centres during and after the Easter service in the region.

Indeed, police commands in all the states in the zone have stepped up surveillance around worship centres while churches and communities have been asked to be vigilant.

Specifically, worshippers were advised not to allow anyone to charge phones or any electronic device in churches during church service.

In Ogun State, a team of heavily armed policemen was sighted at the Christ Anglican Church, Ogere Remo, during the Good Friday service. The officers told the sexton as well as some youths of the church to be on the lookout for strangers who might disguise as worshippers to execute terrorist attacks on their church.

The policemen exchanged phone numbers with the youth and told them to call their hotlines if they suspected any strange occurrence, adding that the current security situation in the country calls for increased vigilance on the part of all.

“In case you see anybody who is not a member of your church, kindly query such person. Also, if anybody says he or she wants to come and charge his or her phone and you know very well that the person is not your member, politely turn the person back. Don’t allow anyone plug any unfamiliar device in your church,” one of the policemen told them.

The same policemen were also later sighted at the Ogere Central Mosque, close to the former tollgate on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where they combed the vicinity during the Friday prayer service.

In a chat, the Divisional Police Officer, Ogere divisional headquarters, John Oluwole told Saturday Tribune that the patrol was as a result of the directive from the Force Headquarters, communicated to the divisions and police formations through the state command.

He added that his men had also begun the patrol of churches during vigils – all in efforts to avoid being caught unawares by suicide bombers and unscrupulous individuals.

Ogun State Police Public Relation Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, who would not confirm the police warning to churches, however, said “the Ogun State Police Command has adopted a security method to ensure that peace reigns supreme in this state. We are working with all sectors to ensure that there is peace in this state.”

Also, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Dorothy Gimba, said the state command had stepped up surveillance and deployed more policemen to ensure effective security of life and property during the Easter period.

Speaking with Saturday Tribune in a telephone interview, the commissioner said no stone would be left unturned to guarantee a hitch-free Easter celebration in the state.

Mrs. Gimba said the state command would intensify its mobile patrol throughout the state, and work round the clock to ensure peace and tranquillity in the state.

“As usual, we will increase our surveillance, through patrols and explore intelligence reports to nip in the bud any act of criminality, while we will also deploy more men to strengthen the security in Osogbo, the state capital, and other communities.

“As expected, there will be more influx of eminent personalities into the state from Abuja, Lagos and other cities, and as such, we are ready as always to make sure that the security here is not breached. I can assure you that we are up to the task to discharge our duties and responsibilities efficiently, as far as the security of the state is concerned.”

In Lagos State, since police recovered bombs and AK-47 rifles in Ijora area of the state, the state command has continued to conduct raids on hideouts suspected to be operational bases of terrorists in the state; but it has insisted that such actions were just routine exercises.

Ninety two people from Chad, Mali, Republic of Niger and the northern part of Nigeria were arrested, while many of them have been deported by the Lagos State command of the Nigeria Immigration Service

Saturday Tribune gathered that the state police command has directed all area commanders and DPOs to properly monitor all religious institutions and public places.

“Policemen have been directed to ensure surveillance and routine patrol around places like churches, shopping malls and market places during the Easter celebrations,” a police source told Saturday Tribune.

In Oyo State, the police on Friday went round the state capital, Ibadan, and other towns with heavily armed anti-crime operatives and Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) on a ‘show of force,’ as a way of sending warning signals to criminals.

When the Saturday Tribune called the Deputy Commissioner in charge of administration, Mr Clement Adoda, he confirmed the development, saying that it was to show that the police were prepared repel any criminal acts.

He added that all DPOs had been instructed to remain at their duty posts and to make their offices their homes for the Easter period.

“We are trying to replicate what we did during the Christmas and New Year festivities,” he disclosed further.

On measures being taken against terrorism, Mr Adoda said the fight against terrorism is an intelligence war and not the type fought on the pages of newspapers.

“We have put in place measures but we cannot disclose them. We will go by intelligence gathering and community policing, working hand-in-hand with other security agencies and different strata of the society.

“We have heard what happened in Lagos; we have studied it and we have drafted our own strategies to suit our purpose in the state,” the deputy commissioner stated further.

He revealed that the command’s strategy paid off on Thursday with the interception of a vehicle that was snatched within the capital, in less than 30 minutes after the robbery.

Adoda added that another vehicle which was snatched in another state and was being taken across Oyo State was also recovered at the Ibadan end tollgate, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Friday, while two suspects were arrested.