By Ogenyi Ogenyi, Uyo
The Police in Akwa Ibom has said it arrested 563 suspects for various criminal offences so far in 2025 and recovered 323 different types of ammunitions.
This is even as it also arrested another set of three masquarades for public disturbance and causing harm to citizens.
State Police Commissioner,Baba Azare who disclosed this in an end of year press briefing in Uyo yesterday also said the command recovered 179 Assorted Arms and 100 pieces of Live Cartridges within the same period.
Azare while reeling our some of the achievements recorded by the command this year also said it recovered 14 stolen vehicles and released them to their owners, rescued 74 human trafficking victims and reunited them with their familie, rescued 10 kidnapped victims and secured 33 convictions.
Azare attributed the peaceful and stable polity throughout the year under revieew to thorough intelligence-led policing, proactive patrols, strategic deployments, community cooperation, and effective inter-agency collaboration.
On public safety,he reiterated the Command’s stance against jungle justice, unlawful gatherings, and activities capable of breaching public peace.
The Commissioner emphasized that community policing remained a core strategy of the Command, noting sustained engagements with traditional rulers, youth and women groups, religious leaders, market associations, transport unions, school administrators, and other stakeholders across the state.
Looking ahead to 2026, Azare outlined the Command’s key priorities to include:
strengthening intelligence-led policing and crime prevention strategies, sustained clampdown on violent crimes, cultism, armed robbery, and kidnapping
and deepening community policing and public trust.
Others include combating cybercrime and the spread of fake news, enhancing professionalism, discipline, and respect for human rights, improved deployment strategies and use of modern policing tools, strengthening collaboration with sister security agencies
He lauded the state Government for its continuous support, sister security agencies for their cooperation, officers and men of the Command for their dedication and sacrifice, and residents for their trust and partnership.
The commissioner assured residents that adequate security measures have been put in place for the festive season and beyond, with intensified patrols, stop-and-search operations, and strategic deployments across all Local Government Areas.
