The Area Commander of Onitsha Area Command, ACP Temitope Fasugba, and the Divisional Police Officer of Okpoko Police Station, SP Kenechi Austine Okafor, have been praised for the proactive steps they have taken to boost security in their respective domains.
The commendations were given by stakeholders of the Okpoko community in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, on the occasion of the maiden visit of the Onitsha Area Commander to the Okpoko Police Station yesterday.
The President General of Ogbaru Main Market, Chief Ndubisi Ochiogu, commended the policing strategies adopted by the Area Commander and the DPO, which he said helped in controlling crime in the area.
In an interview with newsmen during the ceremony, Chief Ochiogu said that the Area Commander and the DPO have been able to coordinate efforts, which ultimately result in proper security of lives and property in Onitsha in general, and Okpoko in particular.
He said that since the DPO took over in Okpoko, he has been able to quell and control criminal activities and public unrest, which have been occurring in the area.
A stakeholder in the community, Mr Chukwuma Emmanuel Akika (Stager), who also spoke to newsmen during the ceremony, described both the DPO and the Area Commander as men of action, whose styles of policing have repositioned the command and brought a positive image to officers of the police force.
He further asked them to work hard to ensure that they write their names in gold, by ensuring that peace and tranquillity, which are already reigning supreme in their areas of jurisdiction, are sustained.
The Chief Security Officer of Agunechemba in Okpoko area, Dr Solomon Ibezim, who also spoke to journalists, commended the relationship between men of the police force in the area and Agunechemba security operatives, which he said has increased the rate of crime control and security assurance in the area.
Describing the Area Commander and the DPO as men who understand their jobs well, the CSO promised that his men would continue to work in synergy with the police to ensure proper surveillance.
President General of Okpoko community, Chief (Sir) Charles Ezeokafor Nwatawugwu, also commended the activities of men of the Nigerian Police Force in Onitsha Area Command, and Okpoko in particular, and promised that the leadership of the community will help the police in crime fighting by providing credible intelligence.
Earlier in his welcome address, the DPO noted that the presence of several markets and industries in Okpoko exposes the area to the activities of touts who masquerade as revenue enforcement agents, saying that their activities lead to traffic congestion, fighting and accidents.
He identified other security challenges in the area to include drug peddling, cultism and rape; while identifying flashpoints to include Upper Iweka area, Okpoko junction, Atani road by Obodoukwu junction, Mgbuka Amazu last gate, among others.
He maintained that with the assistance and collaboration of Agunechemba and community stakeholders, the activities of criminal elements will be properly checked.
While decrying the shortage of personnel in the police station, the DPO called on the Area Commander to deploy more men in the station, adding that the police station has more women than men.
In his speech during the ceremony, the Area Commander commended Okpoko DPO for his style of policing that controlled crimes in the area. He urged for proper collaboration between the Police and other local vigilantes, which he said, will boost effective policing in the area.
On the shortage of police personnel, as complained by the DPO, the Area Commander said that the experience is similar in almost every police station.
He urged parents and guardians to convince their children to join the force, saying that without this, there will always be a shortage of police personnel.
