Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State on Tuesday decorated his Aide-De-Camp, Murtala Raji, who was recently promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police along with 41 other senior police officers of the Niger State Police Command.
The governor promised to support the command with necessary logistics in the fight against criminals in the state.
Others decorated by Bello included Lawal Adamu Shikafi, who was promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police; and the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammed Abubakar, among other principal officers of the command.
Governor Bello picked SP Raji as his ADC in 2015 after he had served as Divisional Police Officer in Paiko and Kpakungu Divisional Headquarters in Niger State.
Speaking in an interview, Bello stressed the need for state police as a vital means of overcoming security challenges facing the country.
He said: “With the security challenges in the country, there is the need to restructure the police and provide them with enabling environment to operate maximally and efficiently.”
He said his administration was supporting the state police command by providing more police stations and rehabilitating some to provide conducive environment for police.
Earlier in his remark, the state Commissioner of Police, Dibal Paul Yakadi, expressed appreciation to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, for promoting 42 officers of the command.
Yakadi charged the newly promoted officers to live up to the responsibilities of the new ranks, adding that with the promotion comes with more responsibilities.
He said: “You must put up your best in the discharge of your new duties and responsibilities.
“You must redouble your efforts at policing in Niger State or any other place where you are posted.”
He urged them to avoid anything that will soil their hands in the line of duty, adding that the command was proud of their contributions to the maintenance of peace, law and order in the state.
The commissioner commended the residents of the state for their cooperation in the fight against criminals, adding that the achievement of police in the area of peace in the state was made possible by the support of the people.
Yakadi assured that the police will continue to ensure the protection of lives and property of citizens in the state warning that criminals should relocate from the state or face the wrath of the law.