The Police have assured residents of Ogun of adequate security following recent letters by a criminal gang which identified itself as one million boys about impeding raid on many communities in the state.
The gang of robbers popularly called “One million Boys” had written to some communities, informing them that they would be coming to rob them for three days.
But the Police, in a statement on Friday, said but for the purpose of allaying the fears of the residents of the state, it would not have responded to the letters, as it is capable of dealing with the criminal gang.
The statement reads: “The attention of Ogun state police command has been drawn to a letter purportedly written by a faceless group who called itself “one million boys” to the good people of Ogun State informing them of their intention to storm the state to carry out criminal activities.
“The command wouldn’t have dignified the said letter with a response, but for the purpose of allaying the fear of good people of the state, the response becomes necessary.
“To start with, the Command is not perturbed by the mischievous letter because we have what it takes to deal decisively with any criminal gang who may want to infiltrate the state under any guise or nomenclature.
“Since the commencement of the lockdown ordered by the Federal Government, the Command is not oblivious of the fact that some hoodlums may want to take advantage of the situation to perpetrate one crime or the other and that informed the decision of the Commissioner of police CP Kenneth Ebrimson to activate all the Command’s tactical squads such as SARS, anti kidnapping unit, anti cultists unit, PMF as well as other conventional policemen and put them on red alert with the mandate to deal ruthlessly with anyone or group that may want to make life difficult for law abiding citizens of the state.
“The Command therefore wishes to assure the good people of the Gateway State not to panick or be unnecessarily apprehensive as the Command will not allow any hoodlums to fester or hibernate in the state .
“The command also wishes to warn those who are in the habit of sending fake news capable of causing fear in the minds of the people to desist from such devilish act as the command will be tracing the source of such fake news with a view to dealing with the author in accordance with the existing law of the land.
The Police also warned the public against the habit of taking laws into their hands by embarking on jungle justice to deal with suspected criminals, adding that anybody caught in such act will be seriously dealt with.
According to the Police, a case study at hand is that of four innocent young men that were mistaken for armed robbers who were arrested, beaten and tied both hands and leg by members of the public at Oke Ata area of Abeokuta on Thursday 23rd of April 2020.
“Save for the quick intervention of policemen attached to the state task force, the four young men would have been beaten to death.
“The commissioner of police has ordered a full scale investigation into the circumstances surrounding the inhuman treatment meted on these young men with a view to bringing those involved to justice.
“The outcome of the investigation, the Commissioner assured will be made known to members of the public,” the Police said.