Kwara police get 25 Hilux vans in security boost

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, on Monday presented 25 Toyota Hilux vehicles to the state command of the Nigeria Police Force to strengthen its operational mobility and sustain efforts to combat crime.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Moshood Agboola, a copy of which was obtained by The PUNCH in Ilorin.

According to the statement, the vehicles presented at Ahmadu Bello House, Ilorin, are the first batch of about 100 vehicles that the governor said his administration plans to provide to security agencies, with other agencies expected to receive theirs in subsequent phases.

AbdulRazaq emphasised that the intervention was intended to sustain the security gains recorded in recent months, while commending the police and other security agencies for their efforts in maintaining peace across the state.

He added that the remaining vehicles would be distributed in stages, urging the police to ensure that the newly supplied vehicles were used for their intended purpose.

“You know the yeoman’s work the security agencies have been doing to improve the security of the state. We have made serious progress in the recent months.

“And to sustain the work they have been doing, we have decided to provide mobility vehicles for the police force.

“Other agencies will also benefit soon. We are doing this in stages. Altogether we are giving about 100 vehicles. This is the first set of vehicles to be delivered. Others will come soon. We trust they will use them judiciously,” AbdulRazaq said.

The governor also called on residents to provide security agencies with useful information to help prevent criminal activities and address emerging threats before they escalate.

“My message to Kwarans is to always tell the security agencies anything they see. Active intelligence gathering is the most important thing to nip things in the bud and make sure they don’t degenerate,” he added.

AbdulRazaq described Kwara as one of the most peaceful states in the country, attributing the situation to the efforts of security agencies.

“We thank them for their services. As you can see, from all indices, Kwara State is still one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria, by independent observation,” he said.

Receiving the vehicles, the Commissioner of Police, Ojo Adekimi, said the donation was among several interventions by the governor to support the command, including the payment of special allowances to personnel deployed on special duties.

“This is one of the many (good) things the governor has been doing for the police, apart from paying special allowances to those on special duties, which is assisting in making our jobs easier,” Adekimi said.

He stressed that the vehicles would help address operational gaps, particularly in hard-to-reach areas, and pledged that the command would put them to proper use.

• Kwara gov gives police 25 hilux vehicles
• Troops kill three suspected kidnappers, rescue victim in Edo
• IPOB denies plan to resume Monday sit-at-home in South-East

“This particular gesture will assist in bridging some gaps that we currently have, especially in hard-to-reach places.

“So, we thank the governor for this great job. We are promising the state and the executive governor that we are going to make good use of the vehicles,” the police chief said.

Adekimi said the command would intensify its operations despite improvements in the state’s security situation.

“The security system has improved, but we are going to double our efforts to achieve greater success,” he added.

The latest presentation follows a series of vehicle donations by the AbdulRazaq administration to security agencies, although not all the previous distributions were made exclusively to the police command.

On February 21, 2020, the state government handed over Toyota Hilux vans to security agencies under Operation Harmony, a state-backed, multi-agency security initiative.

At the ceremony in Ilorin, the governor was represented by the then Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Mamman Jubril, while the then Commissioner of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, received the vehicles on behalf of the security chiefs.

On June 24, 2021, AbdulRazaq presented 20 patrol vehicles and bulletproof vests to security agencies. The vehicles comprised 10 saloon cars allocated exclusively to the police and 10 Toyota Hilux vans for the rapid-response arm of Operation Harmony.

The then Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Bagega, commended the government for its support. The distribution therefore covered both the police command and a joint security operation, rather than 20 vehicles being allocated exclusively to the police.

On November 14, 2022, the government donated 10 patrol vehicles to the Operation Harmony Tactical Team, a joint security outfit operating under the state police command.

The vehicles were handed over to the then Commissioner of Police, Paul Odama.

The state government described the donation as the third time the administration had provided operational vehicles to the police, while noting that other security agencies had also benefited from separate distributions.

In a broader distribution on August 7, 2023, AbdulRazaq presented 32 patrol vehicles and 160 motorcycles to support security operations across the state’s 16 local government areas.

The allocation was designed to improve mobility, particularly in the hinterlands, and was not described as a donation exclusively to the police command.