Except Imo State Government wades into the matter and ensures that money meant for security operatives involved in the Operation Rescue, a security outfit established by the state government to combat crime, the high rate of crime will persist in the state.
Reason, the stipulated amount meant for policemen mobilised for the Operation Rescue by the state government do not get to them which portends danger in the state. Imo Trumpeta findings indicate that when the security outfit was established last year, the state government was paying each of the patrol team the sum N30 monthly from the Local Government purse. Each of the 27 LGAs paid any of the patrol teams in their locality. After the first month, the police hierarchy in the state, it was gathered allegedly requested the state government to pay directly to the state police command for disbursement to the policemen working at the various LGAs.
When police took over payment after the state government and various councils remitted the money to the force for disbursement, the payment to the Operation Rescue operatives became irregular and insufficient leading to complaints in several quarters. While some teams got N5,000, others got N15,000 and N10,000 instead of the agreed N30,000.
It was discovered that while the state government honoured its own side of the obligation, a syndicate in the police powered by a senior officer said to be in charge of the operation allegedly did not reach the men on the field. This aspect caused disaffection that snowballed into recalling of some of the aggrieved policemen from their duty posts at the various councils to the headquarters where they were kept on stand-by.
Some of the affected officers disclosed that since the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioner of Police who were in charge during that period have been transferred and redeployed out of the state in normal police transfer, the few officers who is tasked to cater for the crime-fighting outfit are expected to resume the normal payment of the N30,000 monthly allowance to the patrol team.
Efforts to reach the spokesman of the state police command Vitalis Unugbu proved abortive as his number was not available when called, a top police in the command who spoke under condition of anonymity confirmed the development adding that at a tome the Operation Rescue operatives protested but were recalled to the headquarters.
Also, attempts to confirm from the top officer who was in charge on the allegation was unsuccessful as another source informed that the officer is no longer in charge and a new senior officer has taken over.
