Residents of Rubochi community in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have raised concerns over the deteriorating condition of the divisional police headquarters in the area.
According to Daily Trust, some residents, who spoke on the issue, also said the police barrack in the community is in a dilapidated state.
This, they said, was affecting the optimal performances of police officers at the station.
Built in 1986, the community’s elders said, the station had neither seen any renovation nor upgrading of the facility since then.
Mr Festus Iliya, a stakeholder in the community, said despite the fact that the police division is, at present, serving over 75 rural communities, including Gwargwada, the facility has not been receiving necessary attention from the relevant authorities in the area of upgrading.
He also said the apartments where policemen and their families are to be staying are in a very sorry state, forcing most of the police officers working at the division to be residing outside the division.
He said, “Some of the policemen are staying in a rented apartment while some are even squatting with our neighbours because of the dilapidated state of the barracks.”
Another resident, Samuel Abednego, said the police division was an eyesore.
He said, “During the rainy season, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and his men are usually forced to operate outside the building because of leakages.
‘’The police station is not fenced and the building is on the verge of collapsing.”
He said most of the police officers rejected their posting to the division because of the dilapidated state of the facility and appealed to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to intervene by upgrading the facility.
A police officer, who spoke with our reporter on condition of anonymity, said the entire facility was in a dilapidated state, adding that the station has no toilet and pipe bone water.
He also said the division had only one functional patrol vehicle despite serving over 75 villages in the area.
He added that officers go to the bush to defecate due to the absence of a functional toilet.
He said, “As you can see, the entire facility is in a dilapidated state and there is no tap water as the only source of water is the well in front of the division.”
According to him, officers at the division mostly buy water from vendors, adding that the station has no electricity.
He said one of the policemen at the station had written severally to the authorities of the area council to intervene on some of the challenges facing the division but there has been no positive response.
He also said that there was no desk and chairs, saying the police tasked themselves to buy some plastic chairs to be sitting on.
He said, “Aside from that, we have only one patrol vehicle, which serves over 76 villages around Rubochi and Gwargwada axis and anytime there is a security alert, we have to manage the vehicle like that to move in.”
He added, ‘’In fact, on Sunday, when we received a distress call that some kidnappers attempted to abduct some people around Dnago village, we had to go and buy fuel on credit and mobilize to the area.”
Abuja Metro went round the facility, where it was observed that all the offices at the division have been taken over by cobwebs with broken chairs and tables, while some of the walls have cracked.
It was also observed that the main hall meant for the complainants has no chair or bench and the ceilings in some of the offices have pulled down.
Abuja Metro also visited the police barrack, which is about 100 meters distance from the division, where it was observed that the entire building is in dilapidated state.
Both the roofing and the ceilings of the apartments had pulled down with some of the rooms converted to stores where harvested farm produce are being stored.
Another police officer, who also preferred anonymity, told our reporter that the police cell is also in a dilapidated state.
He said, “The only saving grace we have here is that we hardly have cases of suspects to detain because the cell itself is an eyesore. When it rains, the entire facility is taken over by water.”
He added that police officers at the station have to, sometimes, rely on some of the motorcycles donated to the vigilantes in the area to respond to distress calls, especially when there is a report of a kidnap incident in villages under the division.
He also called on the police authorities to liaise with the FCT administration to upgrade the facilities including the police barrack in the area.
A security aide to the Kuje Area Council chairman, who preferred anonymity, told our reporter through telephone that the council had captured the renovation of the division in its 2025 budget.
He said, “Aside from that, the council will also drill a motorized borehole at the division this year.”
Similarly, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had approved a new divisional police station as well as six-man staff quarters in Kuje Area Council in addition to the one he earlier approved for the council last year.
He made the approval after a security meeting he presided over recently.
The Director, FCTA Security Services Department, Mr. Adamu Gwary, who briefed journalists at the end of meeting, said the executive committee, in a significant move to bolster security, approved a contract for the construction of three new police divisional headquarters and six-man staff quarters in Kuje, Gwagwalada, and Kwali Area Councils.
He said, the projects, which would cost N3.648 billion, completes the initiative of providing two divisional headquarters in each of the six Area Councils of the FCT and fulfils the FCT Minister’s promise to improve security infrastructure and equip police officers to combat crime, particularly in the area councils and satellite towns.
It is, however, not clear if Rubochi division will be one of the stations to be upgraded in the new project.
