Why police are cautious with kidnappers, by IGP

• Seeks media support
• Deploys special force to rescue kidnapped Germans
• Parades five for allegedly stealing crude
• ‘No policeman was killed in Owerri robbery incident’
• Commission approves promotion of 3,213 officers

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has explained why the police were cautious in arresting kidnappers after they have abducted their victims.

The police boss, at an interactive session with senior journalists in Abuja yesterday, said that the police first consider the safety of victims of kidnappings in adopting appropriate strategy to arrest kidnappers.

According to him: “If the police rush to free the victims of kidnappings, this could put them in danger and sometimes, the kidnappers could kill their victims which is not the objective of effective policing.”

He added that families of kidnap victims often prevail on the police to stay off pursuit of kidnappers in fear that their involvement could seriously endanger the safety of the captives.

Meanwhile, IGP has ordered the deployment of a special force to the southern part of Kaduna State to rescue the two German archeologists, Prof. Peter Breunig and Mr. Johannes Behringer, who were kidnapped at an excavation site.

The Force spokesman, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Jimoh Moshood, disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at a press conference.

He said the IG has also ordered a Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) (Operations) to lead the team of policemen on a hunt to rescue the kidnapped expatriates.

Also, the police yesterday paraded five suspects arrested in Lagos allegedly in possession of illegally-refined AGO, otherwise known as diesel.

Jimoh said the suspects were arrested after a sustained surveillance and monitoring of the vessel and crew members sailing from the creeks of Port Harcourt in Rivers State through the waterways to Lagos.

In another development, the Imo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Taiwo Lakanu, has said that no policeman or innocent civilian was killed during the shoot-out that followed the attempted robbery at Zenith Bank along Wethedral Road, Owerri on Wednesday.

Lakanu, who spoke with journalists in Owerri yesterday, said it was untrue as reported in some newspapers that three policemen and two civilians were killed by the armed robbers during the operation.

Meanwhile, the Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the promotion of 3,213 senior police officers to the next rank, including 11 former Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) to Commissioner of Police (CP), one Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to DCP and 3,201 Assistant Superintendents of Police (ASPs) to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

A statement issued yesterday in Abuja by the commission’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, said the Permanent Secretary who is also the Secretary of the Commission, Musa Istifanus, had already conveyed the decision of the PSC to the IG for implementation.