The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, on Friday mourned a police officer who died during a joint security operation to rescue the abducted schoolchildren and teachers in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Speaking in Abuja while receiving police personnel who took part in the rescue operation, IGP Disu lamented that an officer paid the supreme price while working alongside other security agencies to free the victims.
He commended the operatives involved in the rescue operation for their bravery and success.
According to him, “We just finished prayers for the officer we lost in the Oyo State school abduction incident. You will remember I called all of you here a few weeks ago, where I advised you and told you that you would be joining other sister agencies on a very serious national assignment.
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“I’m happy you went and made us proud. I got information from the commander of the operation about the roles you played. I cannot thank you enough for your national service.”
The IGP, however, disclosed that other officers who sustained injuries during the operation were responding well to treatment and assured that the Force would continue to cater for their welfare as well as that of the family of the slain officer.
According to him, “For the others who sustained injuries, we are happy they are recovering very fast.”
He added that both government and private hospitals had been engaged to ensure the injured officers received adequate care.
While explaining why the police make public the deaths of officers killed in the line of duty, the IGP said the personnel were human beings entitled to be mourned and celebrated, stressing that the practice was standard across the world.
“Police officers, first and foremost, are human beings. Police officers have emotions. Police officers feel it when a colleague dies,” he said, noting that such officers die “protecting the people.”
He commended the collaboration between the police and other security agencies, insisting that no single agency was superior to another in the fight against insecurity.
According to him, “We have made up our minds to work together, train together and fight this insurgency together.”
Appealing to members of the public to volunteer useful information to security agencies to improve operational efficiency, the IGP said: “We beg you. We plead with members of the public. If you see something, say something.
“Cooperate with the security agencies. The situation we have now is such that everybody must come together. Give us information. Assist us to nip it in the bud, because the life you save may be your own.”
One of the officers who participated in the operation said the team did not see the abducted children as strangers but as their own.
According to him, “We didn’t look at them as victims. We looked at them as our own children. Every step we took, we took for the children.
“And this is what we are trained for. We are still going back to our various formations to continue our work.
“So we are very happy that we carried out the successful operation. We did what was expected of us. We heard the cry and we answered the call.”
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