By Hudu Yakubu, Abuja
Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has intensified efforts to strengthen security in rural and border communities in Abuja, as a major step toward fulfilling the Minister’s pledge to decentralise policing and bring it closer to the grassroots.
The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, had previously ordered the immediate provision of additional divisional police stations across the six area councils of Abuja.
A visit to some of the new divisional police stations at Tukashare and Saburi in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Bako in Kwali, Yaba in Abaji, Giri in Gwagwalada, and Ushafa in Bwari Area councils, shows significant progress in the ongoing construction.
At Saburi, in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, the project is nearing completion with visible finishing works going on at the station block and adjoining residential quarters.
Voice of Nigeria 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 equipped holding cells.
The residential block, designed for officers’ accommodation, comprises six two-bedroom flats and is said to be a deliberate effort to ensure officers remain close to their duty posts and can respond swiftly to emergencies.
The Project Engineer, Ahmed Yahaya, told journalists that the site was in its final phase. “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, we should begin painting.”
Also at the Yaba Divisional Police Station, located in a border community that shares boundaries with Niger State, the site engineer, Engr. Ayinde Adewale assured that the project will be completed on schedule.
He said, “With the level of funding support we’re getting from the FCT Administration, we do not doubt 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 crucial.
The Director of Security Services Department at the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, said the gesture was 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 the ground to respond to emergencies at any hour.”
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.
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.
“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.”