POLICE: BORNO NOT SUPPORTIVE ENOUGH

Borno State Commissioner of Police Mohammed J. Abubakar yesterday said he was unhappy with the refusal of the state government to assist the police with operational vehicles to fish out serial killers who have been terrorizing the state since July.

The police boss said this while interacting with newsmen on the security situation in the state , Abubakar maintained that he interpreted government action as lack of attention and interest in pursuing effective policing of the state and taming the fundamentalists that have held the state to ransom.

'When I came to the state recently, I met the serious challenge of religious fundamentalists that have taken hold on the otherwise peaceful state. I discovered the police did not have operational vehicles and I wrote to the state government for assistant in this regard and unfortunately, they were not forthcoming. Both the army and police made the request but that of the army has been granted. To me, I see this as lack of attention and interest and it is a serious challenge,' he said.

The state government had in October donated 40 patrol vehicles to the army with a promise to install communication gadgets in the vehicles. The governor, Ali Sheriff   handed over the keys of the vehicle to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Onyeabo Azubike Ihejirika during his official visit to the state. Sheriff declared that the police were incapable of defending the people having lost more of the personnel in the recent killings in the state.

But the commissioner of police maintained that the police were recording successes in their effort to curtail the serial killers. According to him, the stop and search as well as house to house search of suspected members of Boko Haram, believed to be behind the killings have yielded results, saying that no fewer than 47 suspects would be transferred to the force headquarters in Abuja to answers questions regarding the issue.  Meanwhile, the commissioner confirmed the killing of two policemen on Monday night in Danla area of Maiduguri. He disclosed that the two policemen killed were drivers attached to the transport department of the command.