The Ogun State Police Command has intensified its non kinetic approach to crime prevention through youth sensitisation, academic advocacy and community engagement, in line with the strategic policing priorities of the Inspector General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu.
The initiative, led by the Commissioner of Police, CP Bode Ojajuni, is aimed at addressing the social and economic factors that expose young people to cultism, substance abuse, cybercrime and other criminal activities.
As part of the campaign, the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi Babaseyi, delivered a paper on “Substance Abuse and National Insecurity: Building Responsible Youth Through Entrepreneurship” at the eighth academic seminar of the Mass Communication Department, Al Hikmah University, Abeokuta Study Centre.
Babaseyi told lecturers, media practitioners and students that substance abuse remained a major driver of violent and organised crimes, including cultism, armed robbery and cybercrime. He urged youths to reject drug abuse and other destructive lifestyles.
He also encouraged students to embrace entrepreneurship as a means of achieving economic independence and contributing positively to national security. According to him, productive engagement could reduce the vulnerability of young people to criminal networks.
The PPRO further stressed the responsibility of the media in promoting responsible public discourse, noting that accurate information and constructive communication could help shape positive attitudes among young people and strengthen community efforts against crime.
In a separate engagement, the Ogun State chapter of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, POCACOV, partnered with Peace Club Abeokuta, affiliated with the World Peace Initiative Foundation, during the Better Me Tournament.
The tournament brought together undergraduates from Olabisi Onabanjo University, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and other tertiary institutions across Ogun State. The POCACOV team used the platform to sensitise participants on self discipline, personal leadership, gang involvement and other social vices.
The State Coordinator and Deputy PPRO, ASP Opeyemi Oluborode, led the POCACOV engagement, reinforcing the Command’s position that effective crime prevention requires sustained collaboration among the police, schools, families, civil society organisations and community leaders.
The Ogun Police Command said enforcement against criminal elements would continue, but maintained that preventive education, youth empowerment and positive value orientation were critical to achieving lasting reductions in youth related crime. It urged stakeholders to work with the police to guide young people towards productive and responsible lifestyles.