By: Admin
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, and the newly posted Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim D. Zungura, have pledged to strengthen collaboration between the state government and the police command as part of efforts to restore peace, public trust and political stability across the state.
Zungura, who assumed office recently, made the commitment when he led senior officers of the Osun State Police Command on a courtesy visit to Governor Adeleke.
The new Commissioner of Police promised to work with the state government to promote peace and stability, while assuring residents that the command would operate with fairness and impartiality.
“I promise to work with the state government for peace and stability of the state. I will be fair to all and I will prove my commitment in the next few weeks. Osun is a peaceful state and we will work to address all outstanding issues,” Zungura said.
Responding, Governor Adeleke said Osun had passed through turbulent times and stressed the urgent need to restore post-election peace and rebuild confidence between residents and security agencies.
The governor specifically referenced a recent police operation in Ikire in which two people were reportedly killed, alleging that the Divisional Police Officer in the area had been implicated in the incident.
“Based on all details of the attacks, I request immediate commencement of disciplinary action against the DPO. He has become a threat to the people he was posted to protect,” Adeleke said.
The governor said his administration was already pursuing post-election peace and reconciliation initiatives and had extended an olive branch to stakeholders across the political divide.
He, however, noted that the relationship between the police and civilians in the state had deteriorated significantly, with public trust in the police at a worrying level.
Adeleke consequently presented five key requests to the new police commissioner as part of efforts to consolidate peace and reconciliation in Osun.
First, he called for deliberate measures to rebuild public confidence in the police, particularly by addressing conduct perceived as partisan or hostile to members of the public.
The governor also urged the command to strengthen its working relationship with the state government, stressing that his administration was seeking neither political favour nor preferential treatment, but fair and impartial policing.
Adeleke further called for the reorganisation of the internal operations of the state police command. He expressed concern over perceptions among residents that some police operational units had been compromised and were allegedly being used to protect political thugs.
“There is a need to dissolve many police operational units because they have been compromised,” the governor said.
The fourth request was for greater police participation in the State Security Council meetings. Adeleke noted that the predecessor of the new Commissioner of Police had not attended a State Security Council meeting since 2024.
He also called for the release of several Accord Party members who, according to him, had been arrested and were being held as political detainees.
“Further arrests of our members should also stop,” Adeleke added.
The governor assured the police command of the state government's support for legitimate security operations, emphasising that such support would come without political conditions.
“Our government is ready to support police operations without any string attached. What we seek is fair policing,” he said.