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The Nigeria Police Niger State Command has said that the six-month-old baby Chinedu Samson, who was alleged to have been taken away from her mother's shop at Kure Modern Market by a yet-to-be identified person and was reported to the GRA Division of the command, has been found.
The Police Public Relations Officer PPRO, Niger State Command DSP Wasiu Abiodun, who revealed this in a press release obtained by Newsline's crime correspondent, however, disclosed that the case of a baby abduction was immediately reported to SCID Minna while anti-kidnapping units swung into action and commenced investigation with the aid of technical intelligence.
DSP Wasiu Abidoun disclosed further that "fortunately, today being July 23, at about 12:30 hrs., due to sustained pressure and close monitoring, the said baby was found being abandoned at an erosion ditch close to Guaraka Primary School of Tafa Local Government Area of the state".
According to him, the baby was taken to a nearby hospital for a medical examination, was found healthy and in good health, and has been reunited with the family.
He said efforts were being made by the police to apprehend the perpetrator of the crime.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, Niger State Command, CP Ogundele Joshua Ayodeji, appreciated the efforts of all concerned and Nigerlites for the support given to the police, which led to achieving the feat.
He therefore enjoined parents and guardians to be more careful and be more security conscious, especially by not giving out their children to strangers.
No fewer than 40,000 Police Mobile Force (PMF) personnel are to embark on intensive technical intelligence training for more proactive policing to stem the tide of kidnapping, insurgency, and other forms of crime.
The Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG Zone 7 Police Command, Adebowale Williams, stated this while interacting with the men and officers of the Nigeria Police Niger State Command during his familiarisation visit to the command in Minna.
AIG Williams said that the Acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, and his management team have commenced the process of repositioning its technical intelligence units, data base centre, Interpol, and community policing, adding that the essence of the training was to ensure prompt response to distress calls to nip crises in the bud.
The AIG Zone 7, while assuring the men and officers of the Nigeria Police that the issue of their welfare was being addressed by the police high command, however, directed them to take advantage of these technical units to proactively prevent kidnapping and terrorism.
Mr. Adebowale Williams also urged them to uphold the rule of law and protect and not abuse the rights of any citizen in the course of discharging their responsibilities.
He charged them with the need to sustain adequate security of critical infrastructure like Kanji and Shiroro hydro dams and ensure border patrol along the Borgu axis, among others, as well as embark on stop and search operations without embarrassing or abusing anybody.
He further enjoined the men and officers of the command to key into some of the programmes of the IGP, which, according to him, were to synergize with other sister security agencies by collaborating with them, and warned that any police personnel who was found wanting in protecting the lives and property of citizens would not be spared.
He commended the state Commissioner of Police, CP Ogundele Joshua Ayodeji, for being equal to the task, saying his visit to the state command was to get first-hand information on the happenings in the state.
He also appreciated the efforts of Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago in donating vehicles to the command, saying the gesture will go a long way in fighting crimes in the state.
Speaking earlier in his welcome address, the commissioner of police, CP Ogundele Joshua Ayodeji, thanked AIG Adebowale Williams for the visit to the state, adding that his visit was timely, especially as he found time to interact with the men and officers of the command.
CP Ayodeji, however, used the occasion of his visit to brief him on the security situation in the state, saying the command under his leadership was challenged with problems of banditry, insurgency, youth restiveness, shortage of manpower, and logistics, and called for the support of AIG to come to the aid of the command to address them.
