According to Chief Bisi Ilaka, the Chief of Staff to Governor Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Security Taskforce is stepping up efforts to combat crime in certain parts of the state.
Following the task force meeting on Wednesday, March 24 2021, in Ibadan, he briefed journalists, reiterating the government’s commitment to the security of lives and property in the state.
He said the taskforce had noticed a slight improvement in insecurity in the state, but that much more work remained to be done to bring peace to the entire state.
He further assured the citizens that the taskforce was steadfast in its determination to make the state a safe place to live.
“In this regard, the committee deliberated at length during its meeting and decided that the necessary steps must be taken to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the state’s earlier adopted ‘Integrated Security Concept.’
“In light of this, concerted efforts are being made to conceptualize this integrated security concept in order to improve the state’s security architecture.
“A number of things will need to happen as a result of that, including finalizing the standard of rating manual for state and non-state actors so that the state has seamless synergy.
He indicated that a gap analysis is being undertaken to further maximize this integrated security concept so that hotspot policing and strategic policing can be fully utilized.
Fatai Owoseni, the Governor’s Special Adviser on Security, also clarified that hotspot policing was about making the most of available human and material resources.
According to him, if these resources are properly maximized, they will go a long way toward assisting the state in fulfilling its security responsibilities.
In terms of non-state actors’ participation in the new integrated security concept, Owoseni stated that the task force was figuring out how to bring them together.
This, he claimed, would resolve problems of superiority and animosity between them.
He noted that they will work as a team, interacting with state actors such as the conventional police, the NSCDC, the DSS, and Operation Burst, among others.
