Governor Sbubakar Bello of Niger State.

Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger on Tuesday urged police officers and men to renew their efforts on the maintenance of law and order in the state.

Bello gave the advice shortly after decorating 42 newly-promoted in Minna, saying that the state government would continue to support security agencies to enable them to perform optimally.

He commended the command for promoting peaceful coexistence in the state, stressing the need for adoption of proactive measures to combat prevailing crimes.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Bello urged security agencies not to relent in addressing security challenges, including armed robbery, kidnapping, herdsmen/farmers clashes, and communal clashes.

“We must wake up to do our work to the best of our ability with the fear of God in providing peaceful atmosphere for all irrespective of tribe, religious and political differences, ” he said.

“ We will continue to support the security agencies to enable them to confront any form of threats to lives and property of our people.”

Earlier, Mr Dibal Yakadi, the Commissioner of Police, commended Gov. Bello for supporting the command in its operations.

He said that the command had already taken concrete security measures that would continue to provide peaceful atmosphere for the residents to carry out their legitimate activities.

The commissioner appealed for the public’s support in providing useful and timely information that will enable the police to apprehend criminals.

Yaradi said criminal activities in the state would only be curbed if residents could provide vital information to the police on movement of suspicious persons or negative activities in their immediate surroundings.

“ We have reached out to stakeholders, traditional and religious leaders in mobilising residents to be security conscious by reporting dubious characters in their midst for prompt action.”

“ We will enhance community policing to enable residents to come forward with required intelligence that will aid us in apprehending criminal elements,’’ he said.

Responding on behalf of the officers, ACP Ibrahim Shinkafi assured the authorities that they would continue to do their best in discharging their statutory responsibilities.

“Our primary role is to secure lives and property of residents and we have set in motion security measures that will deal with any form of security threats,” he said.