The South-South Bureau Chief of 9News Nigeria, Ambassador Emmalex David Atseyinku, has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Rilwan Disu, to address what he described as a shortage of operational personnel in divisional police stations across Rivers State.
Amb Emmalex made the appeal following visits to several police divisions in the state, where he said he observed an insufficient number of operational officers available for patrols and emergency response.
According to the journalist, the alleged shortage of manpower could affect the ability of some divisional police stations to respond promptly to distress calls and other security challenges. He urged the IGP to ensure that whenever officers are transferred out of the Rivers State Command, adequate replacements are deployed without delay to maintain effective policing.
He further appealed to the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, Olugbenga Adepoju Adewole, to work with the police leadership to strengthen manpower across divisional formations, stressing that increased personnel would improve crime prevention, enhance emergency response, and promote proactive policing.
Amb Emmalex also expressed concern about the current distribution of personnel in some police divisions. He argued that more operational officers should be assigned to frontline security duties to improve public safety. He maintained that increasing manpower would help reduce crime and insecurity in communities across Rivers State.
As of the time of filing this report, the Rivers State Police Command and the Office of the Inspector-General of Police had not issued any official response to the concerns raised by the journalist.
The Nigeria Police Force has consistently stated that it remains committed to protecting lives and property across the country and continues to review the deployment of personnel based on operational needs.
