News Commentary: The killing of two persons during a police rescue operation in Bassa forest and the question of security alertness in Plateau state

written by our News and Current Affairs Department

The Plateau state police Command recently disclosed that two persons were killed while six others were rescued after operatives of the Command engaged suspected kidnappers in a gun battle in a rocky forest in-between
Tumu,Tsaya and Rumfar Gomna communities in Bassa Local Government Area.

The Spokesman for the Plateau state police Command,DSP Alabo Alfred who made the disclosure in a statement said the kidnappers had earlier invaded Gwalada village in the neighbouring Toro LGA of Bauchi State and kidnapped some residents.

According to him ,some police operatives who were alerted over the incident later traced the kidnappers to their hideout within the border community adding that In the cross-fire that ensued, two persons- one of the kidnap suspects and a vigilante group member, were killed while six of the kidnapped residents were rescued by the police.

It was learnt that since the kidnap incident occurred ,residents of the affected community had been living in fear with many of them traumatized as well

Be that as it may ,the disclosure by the Spokesman for the Plateau state Police Command of the killing of two persons during their rescue operation is a big indictment on the police to safeguard the lives of the people from kidnappers and other criminal elements in the society

The question that keeps recurring is :Who are these kidnappers and where do they come from ?

What happens to early warning signals system which should detect , inform at-risk communities ,enable early action ,save lives and reduce the impact of disasters or any untoward incident before they occur?

Certainly ,It is not enough for the police to just rescue kidnap victims ,it should also work to stop the kidnap operations from happening or succeeding in the first place

The fact that some people lost their lives in an attempt by the police to rescue kidnap victims in Bassa forest after a successful operations by the hoodlums underscores the need for the police and other sister security agencies to focus more on crime prevention

But beyond the roles of the security agencies, there is the need for community awareness by every citizen regarding things happening in their surroundings.

People need to be aware of their environment such that they could raise the alarm over any untoward ongoings they notice. Prevention ,they say ,is better than cure.