To curb the menace of kidnappings and killings among other vices in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike is building police stations in rural areas and border communities.
The development is in fulfillment of Wike’s pledge to decentralise policing and bring safety closer to the grassroots.
This initiative follows months of sustained insecurity that plagued several parts of the FCT between late 2023 and early 2024, when communities in Abaji, Kwali, and Bwari suffered repeated abductions, bandit incursions, and activities of kidnappers.
The situation which led to the kidnapping, maiming and killings of scores of victims, especially those along border communities, prompted the FCT Minister to order the immediate provision of two additional divisional police stations across the six area councils.
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A visit to some of the new divisional police stations on Thursday at Tukashare and Saburi both in AMAC, Bako in Kwali, Yaba in Abaji, Giri in Gwagwalada, Ushafa in Bwari Area councils, show significant progress in the ongoing construction.
At Saburi, in Abuja Municipal Area Council, the project is nearing completion with visible finishing works going on at the station block and adjoining residential quarters.
Our correspondent observed that the complex consists of a main administrative building with offices for the Divisional Police Officer, his secretary, and other ranks, as well as two holding cells equipped with in-built toilets and bathrooms.
Meanwhile the residential block, designed for officers’ accommodation, comprises six two-bedroom flats, each with a kitchen, dining room, and three toilets, said to be a deliberate effort to ensure officers remain close to their duty posts and can respond swiftly to emergencies.
Project engineer, Ahmed Yahaya, told reporters that the project is in its final phase.
Yahaya said: “We have completed the electrical and plumbing works, and we’re currently on the finishing fittings. By tomorrow, we’ll commence industrial cleaning and in two days’ time, we should begin painting.”
Also at the Yaba Divisional Police Station, located in a border community that shares boundaries with Niger State, site engineer Engr. Ayinde Adewale, assured that the project will be completed within schedule.
He said: “With the level of funding support we’re getting from the FCT Administration, we have no doubt about meeting the November deadline”.
He noted that the strategic location of Yaba, a major transit point for travellers heading toward Niger and Kogi States, makes the establishment of a divisional police command there a crucial deterrent against criminal infiltration.
The Director of Security Services at the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, who was seen at one of the project sites, told journalists that the projects were part of a comprehensive grassroots security plan initiated by the minister to extend policing to underserved areas.
According to him; “When the Honourable Minister assumed office, he directed that all abandoned or underused town halls in the area councils should be converted into functional police stations.
“The idea is to take policing closer to the people, especially in vulnerable and remote communities where response time is slow.”
The concept, he said “is to end the era where officers live far away from their posts. Now, there will always be personnel on ground to respond to emergencies at any hour.”
He said the prototype of the building was gotten from the Inspector – General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Some residents in the benefiting communities expressed optimism that the new facilities will improve safety and restore confidence.
In Yaba, a farmer, Musa Yakubu, said the presence of a police division would encourage more economic activity. “People will now come in freely to buy and sell farm produce because they know security is improving,” he said.
A petty trader, Ibrahim Danladi, also added that the fear that kept many from staying out late is gradually easing. “Now we can begin to feel safer again,” he said.
Gwary said beyond their symbolic presence, each of the new divisional police stations follows a national prototype recently approved by the Inspector General of Police.
He said the design was introduced at the request of the FCT Minister, who sought to ensure that new stations meet uniform standards of functionality and comfort for operational officers.
He added that the new structures will serve as models for future police divisions in the territory and across the country.
The director security said; “If you go to the Police Resource Centre, you will find the same standard being replicated. What we have done is align the FCT projects with this national standard so that both the physical environment and manpower deployment can support efficient policing.”
