The Rivers State Government has launched a new security outfit to help maintain security in the oil-rich state.
The security outfit, called C4i, was launched on Thursday in Port Harcourt by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, in a series tweets, said the outfit comprises 400 police officers and 200 officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and that they have been trained in “relevant skills to ensure they carry out their duty efficiently”.
“We have made appreciable success in the area of security but we wouldn’t rest on our oars.
“With C4i, we intend to take it a step further by adopting a proactive policing approach and nipping the effort of criminals in the bud,” the governor said at the inauguration ceremony which was attended the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 16, Austin Agbonlahor, who represented the inspector general of police.
“C4i vehicles, branded with their local government areas of responsibility, have been deployed to each local government area in the state.
“To further boost our security in the riverine areas, in the next few weeks the state government would donate a total of fifteen gunboats to the Navy, Army and Police in Rivers State,” the governor said.
Wike thanked the inspector general of police and heads of other security agencies for attending the launch.
He advised security agencies to abstain from politics and focus on their primary responsibility of protecting lives and property of people of the state.
Several states in Nigeria, grappling with varying security challenges, including kidnapping for ransom, communal clashes, frequent clashes between herders and farmers, have also set up their own security outfit.
