The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri has rejigged the state security outfit, codenamed Operation Doo Akpo, with 50 brand new patrol vehicles, 40 motorbikes and security gadgets to battle crime in the state.

Diri also signed into law the Community Safety Corps Bill passed by the House of Assembly to streamline operations of the state security outfits while inaugurating the patrol vans and the motorbikes at the Peace Park, Yenagoa, on Tuesday.

The new law brings the operations of security outfits such as the Operation Doo-Akpo, Bayelsa Volunteers and the Bayelsa Vigilantes under one umbrella.

He explained that the exercise was to reinvigorate the security architecture of the state to make it more efficient and effective in crime-fighting.

Diri said the operations of the state security outfit was not to usurp the functions of the conventional security agencies but to support and collaborate with them in efforts to rid the state of criminals.

He said enormous resources were used to procure the assets, stressing that the priority of his administration is to ensure the prosperity of all which cannot be achieved without the security of lives and property.

He said the timing of the relaunch as appropriate as the Christmas and New Year festive season draws closer with the attendant increase in criminal activities.

The governor described crime-fighting as a collective effort and appealed to security agencies to conceal the identity of informants to encourage people to report criminal activities.

He also appealed to the people to provide information to the security agencies that would lead to more effective crime-fighting.

Diri thanked security agencies for their role in ensuring relative peace in the state.

He said, “After comprehensively and holistically evaluating the situation, we have made informed and tailored decisions, allowing us to re-engage Doo Akpo even more effectively, strengthening performance and guaranteeing the safety and security of our people. Improving responsiveness also requires that we have the requisite equipment and assets.

“Consequently, it gives me great joy to re-launch Operation Doo Akpo. Necessarily, the programme has been rejigged, redesigned and refreshed to be more responsive and responsible in carrying out its duties.

“In this first phase, I am commissioning for immediate deployment 50 brand new Hilux patrol vehicles, a new state-wide command-and-control system based on Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Technology, 40 brand new motorcycles and a K-9-unit.”