Anambra: Obiano boosts state security with Armoured Personnel Carriers

As part of measures to strengthen and sustain the security of lives and prop­erty across Anambra State, Governor Willie Obiano yesterday presented three refurbished Armoured Per­sonnel Carriers (APCs) to the Anambra State Police Command.

This gesture is a major boost to “Operation Kpo­chapu,” which spear-heads security initiatives in major parts of the state.

Making the presentation at the Governor’s Lodge, Amawbia, Obiano an­nounced that the state’s target was to refurbish and present 20 APCs to the police, which would be deployed in various parts of the state.

Obiano said two more APCs would be handed over to the police command in two weeks’ time while 10 horses would be provided to aid crowd control during major events. According to Gover­nor Obiano, “the APCs are expected to equip the police to adequately battle kidnap­pers, armed robbers and criminals, who threaten the peace in Anambra State.”

The governor enjoined the police to make effective use and maintain the APCs while ensuring the safety of Anam­bra people.

The out-going Commis­sioner of Police in the state, AIG Usman Gwari thanked Governor Obiano for his zeal and commitment to peace and security in Anambra and efforts geared at ridding the state of all forms of criminal­ity.

Gwary recalled that the APCs were wasting away over the years until Gover­nor Obiano’s intervention to have them refurbished and air-conditioned for effective performance and assured that the carriers would be effec­tively used for crime fighting.

He attributed the achieve­ments recorded by the state police command during his tenure to the good working relations between the police and the state government, stressing that the encourage­ment and various interven­tions on security by Obiano was evident in the peace existing in Anambra and en­joined his successor to sus­tain the trend.

Reacting to the develop­ment, Anambra State House of Assembly Chairman on Security, Mr Victor Okoye praised the foresight and se­curity initiatives of the gover­nor and observed that equip­ping the police and building their capacity would enable them discharge their func­tions effectively.