By Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
There was no single case of oil theft in Edo State in the month of August 2022, the security report of the state has revealed.
The report was released to newsmen on Tuesday, 20 September, 2022, in Benin-City after the monthly State Security Council meeting in government house, Benin City.
This is commendable considering the current rate of oil theft in Nigeria, and the economic downturn it has brought upon the country.
Nigeria loses about $7.3 billion a year to oil thieves and vandals. The situation is made worse by the country’s inability to meet the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC’s production quota of 1.8 million barrels per day. The country’s crude oil output fell to 900, 000 barrels per day (b/d) in August 2022, resulting in the Federal Government reducing its export target to 1.6 million barrels per day while other countries in the cartel are striving to exceed their quota.
Speaking to journalists, after the meeting, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, gave a summary of the security situation of the state.
“As you know we have a security information management system in Edo state where we track every incidence of crime that is reported.
“In the month of August, we can say very clearly that the security situation in Edo was stable. The top 4 incidents of kidnapping, drugs, homicide and vehicle accidents account for 75 percent of the incidents relating to crime in Edo state. This month has been stable.”
He continued: “Although we witnessed a slight increase in the case of kidnapping, the Security Council took measures which hopefully will see us curb the increase in the next one month.
“We also discussed the issue of drugs; and working with the NDLEA, we are going to be undertaking an operation very soon on a major drug hub in the state.”
Recall that Governor Obaseki had earlier attributed the rise in drug related security cases to the ongoing industrial action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has kept students in tertiary institutions at home since February 2022.
While responding to the increase in car snatching in the state, and the need to leverage on the State’s Command and Control centre to tackle this challenge, the governor said:
“We have applied, and we will continue to put pressure on the federal government, particularly the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to allow us to use the 112 emergency line.
“We’ve written again to the NCC. We are hoping that they will allow us access to the line so that that line will be connected to our command and control centre.
“Once that line is connected, then citizens will have quick access to report incidents, and the combination of having an emergency line and also having cameras monitoring entry and exit out of the city, will be able to help us track the activities of car snatching or car theft.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abutu Yaro appreciated the governor for his innovativeness in the fight against insecurity in the state, and was optimistic about the security situation in the state in the days ahead.
In his remarks, he said: “we want to appeal to everybody for a sense of understanding and a sense of gratitude too to the governor of Edo state for the effort and the innovative mechanism he has placed to enable us to function in the way you have seen.
“Without his innovative policy outline, there is no way we can make any difference. So to him we are grateful, and to you the residents and indigenes of Edo state, we want to thank you immensely for your cooperation.
“Expect more from us in the days ahead and we believe jointly, we shall make Edo better than we met it.”
