New Helmsman for FCT Police Command
By Anza Philips, Abuja Bureau
Monday, May 05, 2008
A new commissioner of Police takes charge of the FCT with a promise to redress the shortcomings of the command
John Ado and Abubakar Sani both men of the Nigeria Police Force serving in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command in Abuja are unhappy men. Ado with his family of three lives in an abandoned and dilapidated construction site in Gwarimpa area of Abuja. The site was abandoned by a construction firm after the completion of a contract in 1994. There is neither water nor electricity in the site.
Sani's condition is even worse. He lives in an abandoned international market project in Mararaba, a settlement on the outskirts of Nassarawa State. From their hell holes, these two policemen come to work everyday in Maitama district of Abuja. Maitama is an exclusive area for the very rich and highly placed, with well-laid roads, pavements, non-stop electricity and water supply. These two policemen are saddled with the responsibility of guarding and policing the residents of this high- brow settlement from intruders, thieves and other miscreants. They perform the patrol duty trekking even under very inclement weather conditions when residents are comfortably sleeping. Sometimes it is under heavy rain.
The story of Ado and Sani is the story of the general neglect in the police force.
Today, the police in the FCT is saddled with acute accommodation problems. Most of the police barracks were those constructed much earlier before the relocation of the seat of administration from Lagos to Abuja in 1991. These barracks are weather-beaten and have become an eyesore. The Garki II Police barrack is under threat of demolition from the FCT administration because it is a complete misfit standing among many decent buildings.
If the FCT administration makes good its threat, this will further compound the accommodation problems of the FCT Police Command. Already, some police men due to lack of accommodation have converted the stables meant for police dogs and donkeys for their abodes. This has led to very low morale among men of the FCT command.
John Haruna, the new commissioner of Police for the FCT is aware of this problem and is worried about the development and the resultant low morale among members of the police in the FCT command. He told Newswatch in a recent interview that he is set to address some of these problems.
He said when he took over as the commissioner of police in the FCT about nine months ago, the command had only 14 patrol vehicles, but now the command has about 40 patrol vehicles. Even at that, he said, the vehicles were grossly inadequate. "From 14 patrol vehicles to 40. Is that what a federal capital like ours should have? Ideally we should have not less than 400 vehicles. In the Abuja metropolis, we have more than 200 junctions which should be covered. Today, police perform their patrol duties under rain or heat and on foot. How many Nigerians can perform this patrol for 24 hours on foot?" Haruna said.
He said that policemen are dying on daily bases from job related illnesses. "I was very shocked to discover that officers and men of the police in Abuja are much more poorly accommodated than their counterparts in other commands. I discovered that their morale was very low following the stress they go through for serving in the FCT. Most policemen in the FCT live in suburbs in satellite towns of the FCT in make shift accommodation, in disused or abandoned project sites in Dei-Dei, Gwarimpa, Karu in abandoned houses. They live in conditions not good enough for human habitation. That's where a great number of policemen serving in the FCT live until now," the CP said.
To redress the situation, Haruna said upon assumption, he had gone out to talk to officers of the command promising to take up these issues.
Another problem facing the command is communication. This too is being tackled. According to the CP, as soon as he assumed office he invited all key telecommunication service providers for discussion. The purpose was to make them get involved in effective policing of the FCT. "Here I wanted them to help get us a number where any citizen can dial straight and get the police control room in time of need, like the former 199. The talk is still ongoing. But one of the service providers, Starcomm, has since responded and given us 1000 lines which I have distributed to my Divisional police officers and other key policemen on some specific duties. The lines were given at very subsidised rates. We also got involved with DFID and they have commenced the upgrading of our communication system. And it is expected that before long the FCT police command will have the best communication system. We are trying hard to also change the attitude of men of the police command by inculcating good values into them. And today, it is paying off well," he said.
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