By Abraham Voke
The Area Commander, Sapele Area Police Command, ACP Mauma Rijau has appealed to well spirited members of Sapele Community, Corporate Organisations, individuals and philanthropist, to come to the aid of the police by donating towards the building of a temporary Area command office and provision of patrol vehicles.
The ACP, who assumed office a fortnight ago, told Newsmen that Sapele Area command has seven divisional police stations in its command and by its new status, it’s in dire need of an office accommodation and also desires patrol vehicles for effective crime monitoring in the area.
Rijau also lamented that whereas other newly established area commands now boast of befitting offices and other loggistics provided through host community’s contributions, Sapele Area Command is still grapples with its former status, he therefore, appealed for the reconstruction of abandoned structure that will serve as a temporary accommodation for the Area Commander.
He stated that it is the duty of the police authority to provide enough men for larger spread into volatile crime zones, as he bemoaned that apart from the need to have a temporary accommodation for the Command, there is no single patrol vehicle presently available for quick response by his men to the scenes of crimes.
The AC said the presence of the Area command in Sapele is a great boost to effective crime coverage to Sapele and other stations under his command, explaining that with an area command in Sapele, more policemen are going to be spread out in other to scare potential criminals and check increase in social vices and other nefarious activities.
While reiterating the need for community assistance to the police in its bid to ensure peace and orderliness, the area command pointed out that Sapele is not a new station to him, because of his two years service as a DPO.
He explained that the primary duty of the police is to be pro-active in checking menace of criminality, stressing that this has received the attention of the police authority which has upgraded the station to area command to enable it have police patrol of crime prone zones.
Speaking on synergy between the police and army in the area, Rijau said that men of the Nigerian Army have been most cooperative, as according to him, the presence of the Army, Navy, the Nigerian Civil defense corps, (NDDC) and the vigilante groups in Sapele and its environs has been most helpful to the police.
He explained further that the Army and Navy have always kept their bounds while assisting in crime prevention and the vigilante are strictly under police control while small arms they handle are daily monitored by the police against any form of abuse and excessive use of force in dealing with the public.
On power devolution between the area commander and divisional police officers (DPO) Rijau explained that the major role of the Area Commander is to supervise the Divisional Police Officer under the command with possible sanction and penalties placed on any erring officer seen flaunting the order, this is the reason for monthly meetings between the area commander and all DPOs under the command.
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