FIC REPORT (Imo State) – The Nigeria Police Force, Imo State Command, has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening security through enhanced collaboration with communities and other critical stakeholders as part of ongoing efforts to combat kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts and other security challenges in the state.
The commitment was reiterated during a high-level security stakeholders’ meeting convened by the Imo State Police Command in Owerri, bringing together traditional rulers, community leaders, security agencies, religious leaders, youth and women groups, vigilante commanders and representatives of the Hausa/Fulani community to deliberate on emerging security concerns and sustainable solutions.
Representing the Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Audu Garba Bosso, the Area Commander, Ohaji/Egbema Area Command, ACP Emeka Ezeibe, emphasized the Command’s resolve to sustain intelligence-led policing, proactive crime prevention and effective community partnership in safeguarding lives and property.
He urged residents to provide timely and credible information to security agencies, stressing that criminality should never be associated with any ethnic or religious group but addressed through collective vigilance and cooperation.
The meeting reviewed prevailing security concerns affecting Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta and Owerri West Local Government Areas, including kidnapping, farmer-herder conflicts, destruction of farmlands by grazing cattle and other threats to livelihoods and food security.
Participants commended the sustained efforts of security agencies in improving the security situation across the state and stressed the need for greater synergy among communities, law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains already recorded.
At the end of the deliberations, stakeholders resolved that herders should avoid cultivated farmlands, recommended the registration and profiling of herders operating within affected communities, and called for stronger collaboration with security agencies to curb kidnapping, farmer-herder clashes and other forms of criminality.
ACP Ezeibe assured participants that the Police Command would continue to strengthen proactive policing through strategic partnerships and announced the establishment of a committee comprising representatives of communities in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area to address issues relating to herders, kidnapping and peaceful coexistence.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Northern Affairs, Hon. Suleiman Ibrahim, reaffirmed the commitment of the Hausa/Fulani community to peaceful coexistence, assuring stakeholders that law-abiding herders would neither support nor provide refuge for criminal elements.
The meeting concluded with stakeholders renewing their commitment to support the Nigeria Police Force’s “See Something, Say Something” campaign by providing timely information that will assist security agencies in preventing crime and maintaining peace across Imo State.
CHIKA ANURUNWA
PIPRO/ANIPR
28/7/ 2026
