The Ogbona community in Etsako Central Local Government Area of Edo State, on Saturday, handed over a new divisional police headquarters and an ICT-DATA Centre, built by the community to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Kayode Egbetokun.

Also presented to the IGP by the community to aid effective policing and crime prevention mechanisms, were a patrol vehicle and four motorcycles.

The community handed over the PDQ, ICT-DATA Centre, a patrol vehicle and four motorcycles to the police authorities shortly after their inauguration by the police boss.

The facilities were built and provided by Ogbona Youth Forum (OYF) in collaboration with a notable leader of the area and a major player in the nation’s oil and gas sector, Mr. Peter Omoh Dunia, popularly known as Peter Black.

The DPQ and the ICT-DATA Centre were fully furnished with modern state-of-the art facilities to enable the policemen operating in Ogbona and its environs to perform their jobs optimally and satisfactorily.

The facilities were made up of 10 standard offices, including a fully equipped modern office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), two standard cell rooms for male and female with modern convenience facilities, a well secured armoury, a power room housing equipments for the ICT and solar system, 30 KVA solar system for round the clock power supply, borehole to provide water and ICT security control centre with six work stations and monitoring screens with Internet controlled drones of about 30 kilometres radius, which would function round the clock to effectively secure Ogbona and its environs in the era of kidnapping and other criminal activities.

The operational vehicle and motorcycles were meant for patrols and rapid response purposes.

It was gathered that the community would be responsible for the employment and payment of salaries of the two technicians for the interim management of the ICT-DATA Centre.

An elated Secretary of OYF, Mr. Christopher Itsuokor, said the “ICT-DATA Centre would “also serve as an ICT security control training institute for the Nigerian Police and other security agencies.”

In his remarks, Egbetokun thanked OYF and Peter Dunia, for donating the facilities to the police.

He called for sustained collaboration with the police by the various communities across the country in the ongoing security and peace-building efforts, adding that it was urgently needed to positively tackle the security challenges facing the nation.

Egbetokun, who represented by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 5 Benin, AIG Arungwa Nwaziue,
described the Ogbona event as “epoch making.”

He added, “We are living in a modern world and high-tech policing is inevitable these days. This plays pivotal role in tracking and monitoring of people that have criminal intentions.

“We (Police) cannot be everywhere at the same time hence, we need the public sustained support. Policing is everybody’s business and communal efforts in this regard will not go in vain.”

In his address at the event, Dunia, the Executive Director of Inter-Atlas Synergy Ltd., a Niger Delta based oil and gas industrial security and project management company, urged the Nigeria Police to embrace Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in their security surveillance and other anti-crime operations to meet the challenges of the modern day community policing.

Dunia emphasised the imperative of Public Private Partnership (PPP) to ensure the success of the ongoing campaign against insecurity in the country and to effectively combat crimes and criminalities at the local level.

He said, “The decision to embark on this project was borne out of a deep conviction: the belief that security is the bedrock of development. Without peace and safety, no society can strive, business cannot flourish and families cannot prosper.”

“For too long, our community has grappled with the challenges of inadequate security Infrastructure and so we felt compelled to act in a way that would bring lasting change.”

“To us, the new Divisional Police Station is not just a building, it is a symbol of hope, unity and progress. It’s equipped with modern facilities that will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of our police force in safeguarding lives and property. I am confident that it will serve as a beacon of security not just for Ogbona but for neighbouring communities as well.”

Also, in his speech, the National President of OYF, Mr. Paulinus Eleta said the facilities would help to achieve a better secured environment within the Edo North, especially in this era of kidnapping and other security threatening issues.

Highlight of the ceremony was fund-raising ceremony for the next project of OYF- building of a skill acquisition centre.

Eleta said the centre would afford the indigenes and settlers in the area the opportunity to develop skills for sustainable living.

Dunia and coterie of friends contributed handsomely towards the take off of the new initiative.