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The Nigeria Police, Eastern Ports Command, says ensuring a secured and peaceful business environment in ports under its watch is its top priority.
The commissioner of Police in charge of the command, Tami Evelyn Peterside, made this known during a courtesy call on her on Monday by the Energy and Maritime Reporters (EMR).
She said this was in line with the core mandate given to the command by the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba.
CP Peterside noted that both the media and the police work towards achieving the same goal of building a stronger society, with the media reporting for society to get better, while the police secure society for peace and progress.
Deployed to the command as CP in 2020, Peterside’s gallantry paid off recently with the arrest of port vandals who allegedly destroyed the beams anchoring Berth 8 at the Port Harcourt Ports and were extending the vandalism to Berth 7 before the successful interception by the police.
Our correspondent gathered that the command, under her watch, has also checkmated the activities of unmarked taxis that were brought into the port at night by criminal elements to cart away stolen goods; and while the arrested quay vandals had been charged to court and remanded in custody, the command prepares to take the battle to receivers of the stolen items.
According to the CP, the incidents of beam vandalism are for now, a peculiarity of the Rivers port only and not witnessed in Onne, Calabar and Warri, the other ports under the command.
Her steps in collaboration with sister security forces reportedly kept the four ports safe during the ‘EndSARS’ protests, and are now being deployed against sea piracy, with several gunboats already acquired to check the menace.
To ensure a peaceful work environment, the command now meets quarterly with host communities as a way of forestalling youth protest and the barricading of port facilities.
“It was so much at the beginning of the year”, the CP lamented. “Every day I’ll be called, oh the boys have blocked this… When I asked they said, Madam na so dem dey do. I said but this is not right. These companies will not work for one or two weeks because the boys are blocking the place.”
Enquiring into the cause of the blockages, she devised a solution after the last protest which took place in April. “I said, from now on I am going to be having quarterly meetings with you people. No more blocking of anywhere. Anything you need as a community or what, through your Exco, write a letter to that company, copy me.
“We have had the meeting twice this year, remaining that of December. That thing has stopped. Anything that gives them concern, they write the company and write me, and I invite the company. Since then, business in Onne has been going smoothly,” she said.
Earlier, the chairman of EMR, Martins Giadom, congratulated the CP on her posting and sought collaboration with her office for better performances by both EMR and the command. He also commended the CP and men of the command for their gallantry in arresting beam vandals and criminals at the port.
