IG orders tight security at places of worship

THE Inspector General of Police, M. D. Abubakar, on Tuesday, orders tight security at places of worship, as Nigerians celebrate the New Year.

The police boss also reassured Nigerians of the readiness of the police to effectively provide adequate security for the country in 2014.

This came as operatives of the Anti Bomb Squad and policemen from the different area commands and divisional police stations were, on Tuesday, drafted to places of worship in many parts of Lagos State.

The police boss, who stated this in his New Year message during the 2013 security assessment meeting of the Police Management Team, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, also called on zonal Assistant Inspector Generals and commissioners of police to ensure adequate safety and security in their areas of jurisdiction, with special attention on all places of worship.

Churches in many parts of Lagos state reportedly applied for protection from the Anti Bomb Squad for the cross-over prayer service.

Officials of the Department of State Security Services (SSS) also assured of surveillance in many parts of the state.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the operations was not as a result of the security report of breakdown of law and order, but to ensure a hitch-free cross-over session.

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide, while speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, confirmed the drafting of policemen to all religious places in the state .

“I cannot tell you the number of policemen that will be in operation today, but I can tell you that there will be police presence in all places of worship,” the image maker said.

Information available from the DSS also had it that apart from the surveillance patrol that operatives of the agency embarked upon in the early part of the day,  they were also mandated to monitor places of worship.

Meanwhile, the IG has noted that the multifarious strategies adopted by the police and the renewed collaboration with the public were bound to yield more dividends for the country, reiterating that the police are making robust efforts at locking up all channels of violent  in the country.

He called on the public, particularly the youth, to desist from any act capable of disrupting the peace of the society in the New Year and beyond.