The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, has assured Nigerians that the security agency will reclaim communities currently threatened by terrorists.
Disu gave the assurance during an operational visit to the Kwara State Police Command in Ilorin, where he met stakeholders to review strategies against insecurity.
“I know what is happening in Kwara State because I was here last month, where I spent a month.
“I led the team that cleared the bandits in our forest last month. So I know the problems being faced in the state and am here to thank you for all you have been doing to ensure the state is safe,” the IGP said.
“All of you sitting here have been wonderful. Thank you, and may the Almighty continue to be with you. At the same time, I want to beg you for more cooperation. These criminals cannot chase us out of our hometowns. We are the owners of the towns and will not allow that to happen, or will we allow that to happen?
We have to take back our homes. We have to take back our communities, and that is why I am here to tell you that all of us will work together to take back our communities,” he added.
Disu further assured the people of Kwara State of improved security with renewed vigour from the officers and men of the police.
He urged members of the public to cooperate with security agencies, stressing that collective action remained vital to tackling insecurity nationwide.
Earlier, the police boss paid a visit to the state governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, where he held a closed-door meeting with him.
Addressing journalists afterwards, the IGP thanked the governor for the support being rendered to the police in combating crimes in the state.
Kwara is one of the North-Central states affected by banditry.
Other states include Kogi, Benue, and Niger.
Despite repeated assurances by the federal and state governments, gunmen have continued to launch attacks on communities, killing residents, kidnapping for ransom, and displaying many people.
In February, gunmen stormed the community of Woro, killing over 75 people.
The killings in Kwara marked the deadliest attack recorded in the region in recent months.
President Bola Tinubu condemned the attack as “cowardly and barbaric”, saying the gunmen targeted villagers who had rejected attempts to impose hardline rule.
Tinubu said the military command would spearhead the effort, codenamed Operation Savannah Shield, “to checkmate the barbaric terrorists and protect defenceless communities”.
