No fewer than 7,000 policemen have been deployed to all the churches in Niger to protect worshippers during the New Year celebration in the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr Richard Oguche,? said more personnel were deployed ?to Suleja Local Government Area in particular.
Suleja Local Government Area had witnessed? the highest spate of bombing in the past, including the Christmas?Day bombing at St. Theresa's Catholic ?Church,? Madalla.
Oguche said that the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 7, Mr Atiku ?Kafur, had relocated to Suleja?to specifically coordinate the operation.
He said that the Commissioner of ?Police, Alhaji Ibrahim Maishanu, and top police officers had also relocated from Minna to Suleja.
The PPRO explained that the movement of the top police officers to Suleja town was to ensure? effective monitoring of the security situation in the border communities between the state and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Policemen from the FCT Command were also being redeployed to this state to compliment the efforts of their Niger counterparts ?just as Police Anti?-Bomb Squad are also ?on the ground and? have been deployed to all the ?nooks and crannies of Suleja, Madalla and its suburbs.
“The Commissioner of Police has instructed all the Divisional Police Officers in all?parts of the state to be on? red alert, while the command has also intensified stop and search operations of all vehicles on the roads,”Oguche said.
He appealed to Christians in the state? not to entertain fears but?to go about their lawful business, while assuring them of a hitch-free New Year celebration in the state.?
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