ABUJA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has recorded a significant reduction of insecurity based on the assessment of the country's security forces over the past three months, the police chief has said.
Mohammed Adamu, the inspector general of police, revealed this Thursday to reporters here at the end of a security meeting with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and other security chiefs. He said there had been an improvement in the general security situation in the most populous African country since June.
Citing official figures presented by the security chiefs at the meeting with Buhari, the police chief said kidnapping, armed robbery, and other violent crimes had witnessed a reduction across the country.
Likewise, he said, banditry which had become prevalent in the northern part of the country had also witnessed a steady decline in relation to the frequency and effects of such attacks.
"For instance, in June, a total of 111 murder cases were reported nationally, while it reduced to 99 in July and 80 in August," Adamu said, adding 183 armed robbery incidents were reported in June, with the rate dropping to 127 in July and 96 in August.
Further citing official figures presented to the president during the meeting, he said a similar decline was noticed in the rate of kidnapping with 134 incidents recorded in June, which declined to 112 in July and further declined to 83 in August.
Buhari, at the meeting, tasked the security chiefs to work toward ending the cases of crude oil theft in the country, according to the police chief.
The president, he said, specifically enjoined the security agencies to intensify security along the petroleum pipelines and other facilities to check the menace.
