Commendations trail structural transformation of Fegge Police Station

By Polycarp Ifeanyi, Onitsha

Torrent commendations have continued to trail the structural transformation going on at Fegge Police Station, Onitsha South LGA, Anambra State.

Insinuations abound about some officers of the Nigeria Police Force on allegations of corruption which could be attributed to the adverse poor condition of service and environmental influence which many people failed to consider. 

Besides merger allowances and poor remunerations, other incentives and facilities that would motivate officers to discharge their duties and maintain their operational vehicles, office, residential accommodation, and working conditions, as well as environmental conducive and contingencies are eluded in almost Police formations and divisions across the country.

However, a  respected Community leader and Onitsha-based business mogul,  Chief Edward Ike Okechukwu, who virtually declined comments when newsmen visited police station Fegge said that stakeholders and friends of the station were behind the ongoing renovation and various facilities which is giving the station a new look.

He said the stakeholders deemed it necessary to help and create a conducive environment for the Divisional Police Officer of the station, CSP Rabiu Garba, and his men to carry out their work efficiently.

He said that the station deserves to be beautified in other to complement the good work of CSP Garba, lauding other stakeholders who are assisting in no small measure to ensure the speedy completion of the projects.

CSP Garba who is also a lawyer equally took it upon himself as a source of worry and began to do the little he could with some of his friends to provide facilities that will help his officers and men feel comfortable doing their jobs Since then, Fegge Police Station is now more attractive due to modern facilities provided.

Among the new changes in the policy environment were the flooring of the entire Police Station compound with concrete tarring and the construction of drainage says which has taken care of the perennial problem of flooding in the Station during the rainy season. 

Other construction works are a new car park for the DPO, DCO, and other ranking officers, and a new building housing the State Investigation Bureau (SIB) and Crime office, all the premises of the station have been vigorously tarred and is attractive to behold with men and officers being elated with the environment they are working in.

Also inside the station, these are not the only facilities put up, there are erected new perimeter fences which is providing officers and their families security from unnecessary intruders especially nowadays that insecurity in the country is becoming alarming.

Toilets facilities and soak-away structures have also been provided for the station as well as electricity poles to generate power in the station.

Taking into cognizance the importance of religion in our society hence one’s faith is concerned, there I modest mosques for the Muslim community in the station. And a one-story building Church for The hChristiancommunis is under construction and equally ongoing in the Station.

For the project outside the station, 30- shops for the Police Officers ‘Wives’ Plaza complex have been completed and fully operational.  The plaza complex will provide opportunities for the Police officers’ wives and some female officers to set up businesses that they can operate during their leisure time and generate extra income to take care of themselves.

An office for National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) has also been built in the station and appears to be able to monitor and checkmate the sale, distribution, and consumption of fake, expanded,  and substandard drugs in the area due to its closeness to Ogbogwu Market Onitsha

CSP Garba prudently secured the station effectively in this insecurity threat where Police stations were randomly burnt down in Anambra State. A formidable gate with a security tower, including a fence for the sstationaryintelligently constructed.

The Motor Traffic Division (MTD) of the station has equally been roofed with modern aluminum sheets.

A lister-generating set to solve the problem of epileptic power supply and provide a conducive atmosphere for the officers and men in the office in carrying out their duties effectively.

As a sports lover and a believer in keeping fit, recreation facilities for officers and men where they can play table tennis to keep their bodies fit were provided.

At least, officers of the law who were deployed to serve in the Fegge Police Station could now enjoy a conducive atmosphere and bask under modern facilities provided for them.

All these structural transformations no doubt were possible due to the magnanimity nature of CSP Rabiu  Garba who has not only deployed a vast wealth of experience in community policing into the area but also tackled the security situation squarely.

Even the suspects who were detained in the station are not left out as their cells have been rehabilitated.

Recently, the Executive Director, of Human Rights Liberty Access and Defenders’ Foundation (HURIDE), and security expert, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, praised CSP Garba, saying that his impeccable character always attracted such transformation in the station.

 He noted that Garba is versatile in all fields of life, which he said fetched him numerous awarandand norsnor.

“He is a friend to everyone,  no matter your class, he is so humble and simple. He  attracted two Hilux vehicles from  Interface Beverages, makers of Hero Larger  Beer and other drinks which he has submitted  to the Police” 

Dede also revealed that in the crime index of the State, Fegge has not recorded any crime for the last six months.

“Fegge Police station is p eaceful and conducive more than other stations in Anambra State. Garba’s good human relations have attracted Transglobe Pharmaceutical to build an overhead tank for Fegge Police Division,” said Dede.

The rights activist urged the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector General of Police (IG) to elevate Garba to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in the next Police promotion exercise as the only way they could reciprocate his efforts to promote  Police Force professionalism.