Mpape And Maitama: Two Communities, Different Police

Mpape is one of the densely populated communities of the Federal Capital Territory, spread out over hilly terrain overlooking the highbrow Maitama district of Abuja.

Here, crimes of burglary, property theft, phone-snatching and other robberies are common. The community is served by the Mpape Police Division which has only one patrol vehicle.

Advertisement

The Police Division office is a small sized station that looked bare except for police officers on duty at the counter attending to complainants. The officers looked unkept in their faded uniforms with a few appearing in mufti.

 At the counter area, an officer was seen attending to five women who appeared to be having a quarrel. They had obviously come to the station to settle the quarrel but appeared to have renewed it in the presence of the police.

Handcuff Him!

Outside, a grounded patrol vehicle was sighted parked near the only functional one.  A commercial motorcycle carrying a blood-stained suspect and a policeman drove into the yard.

Advertisement

The suspect, who was bleeding from the ear, was ordered to move into the station by the officer that brought him.

The officer barked orders to the policemen at the counter to “handcuff him.”

The man tried to explain something but an officer shouted at him to “shut up.”

He was ordered to be detained in the cell.

While struggling with the handcuffs, the man tried to remove all the monies in his pockets; counted and handed them over to the police before being pushed into the cell.

Advertisement

From the officers’ conversation, the man allegedly tried to prevent the demolition of his shop in a market for demolition.

The appearance of the DPO, Chief Superintendent Salihu Adamu, saved the suspect from bleeding to death.

The DPO, who noticed the presence of THE WHISTLER, ordered his men  to take the suspect to the hospital for medical attention before any further action.

As the suspect was being prepared for hospital, another was brought in from the same scene. The officer who brought him was wielding a machete he claimed was recovered from the new suspect.

The officer, who seemed to have found renewed energy at the station, hit the suspect at the back repeatedly with the machete. The sight was nothing unusual at the station; it was just a normal day at the Mpape police station.

The Police Is Your Friend In Maitama

Advertisement

At Maitama Police Area Command, less than 20 minutes’ drive from Mpape, a different police attitude and environment are noticeable.

Maitama is the district for the affluent and powerful in Abuja and the police station and four functional patrol vehicles were sighted at the premises. Offices are many and well furnished with some of them equipped with desktops, printers and photocopiers — luxury items for many police divisions.

But officers revealed the station does not see as many criminal cases as in other commands.

The station sees less number of cases, and officers approached complainant with the courtesies of trained marketers, asking how the police could be of help.

After reporting a case at the counter at a reception area offering comparable comfort to those in the hospitality business, a complainant is ushered into another room for further debriefing. The secrecy is obviously to protect the information given by a complainant.

For instance, a couple who had hit a vehicle belonging to another was brought to the station. The complainant and the couple were locked in argument when an officer calmly asked them to come into an office, assuring the matter would be amicably resolved.

Blame The DPOs

The Area Commander, Maitama Metropolis, ACP Nurudeen Sabo, told THE WHISTLER that Divisional Police Officers have the onus to improve the operations  of their stations by liaising properly with the Police Community Relations Committee for the provision of essential policing facilities and tools.

Assisstant Commssioner of Police, Nurudeen Sabo

ACP Sabo said the DPOs should identify the wealthy elites within their jurisdictions, take their issues to them rather than blame the government.

“A DPO has the responsibility to create PR with the well-to-do people who are within his vicinity because the government cannot do a lot, he cannot fold his hands until government does it for them.

“He has to create a good rapport with the members of the public because security is everybody’s business; it is not only the business of the government,” he said.

He revealed that some Maitama residents such as Mike Ozekhome. SAN, and Ned Nwoko, had made huge donations to help the police serve the community better. While Ezekhome donated desktops and photocopiers, Nwoko donated brand new Hillux patrol vehicle.

Leave a comment

Advertisement