A native of Bayelsa State and serving superintendent of police in the state, Sentome Obi, who rejected $17,000 bribe offered him by a suspected organs harvester been honoured by the state governor, Senator Douye Diri.
This is coming even as the state government has acquired drones to enhance crime fighting in the state, a few months after it installed CCTV cameras in different parts of the state capital, as part of efforts to keep the state safe.
At the state executive council meeting on Wednesday in Yenagoa, the governor who announced a gift of 3-bedroom flat and a car for the policeman said it was important to reward Obi, not just for displaying extreme honesty as a son of the state, but for also showing that Nigeria still had men of integrity in the police.
He restated his warning to criminally-minded individuals to steer clear of Bayelsa, and stressed his administration’s commitment to its zero tolerance policy for crime and criminality.
He said the government had improved security architecture in the state with the acquisition of drones for the police to fight crime in addition to the installation of CCTV cameras in different parts of the state capital.
His words: “We have greatly improved our crime fighting efforts using technology. In the recent kidnap of a serving judge in the state, we were able to get him released unhurt.
“We summoned the security agencies and gave them the necessary logistics. At the end of the day, all those who committed the crime were apprehended except one that is still on the run. Bayelsa State has zero tolerance to crime and criminality.”
He also recommended Obi to the Inspector General of Police for promotion in recognition of his gallant effort in crime fighting.
According to him, “Obi did not only make the state proud, he also bolstered the image of the Nigerian Police and I urge other officers to emulate his shining example.”
Meanwhile, all those who were involved in the abduction of a judge of the Bayelsa State High Court, Mr Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, have been arrested by the police.
Justice Omukoro was kidnapped on June 21 in Yenagoa and was held for 12 days before he was rescued through the joint effort of security agencies in the state.
A statement by Diri’s Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said everyone involved in the kidnap had been picked up by the police except the gang leader that was on the run.
In his remarks, the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Francis Idu, congratulated the government and people of the state for producing one of the most dedicated and well-groomed officers in Obi.
He stressed the need for government to invest more in boosting security towards the protection of lives and property.
