Business
Officers Abandon Sinking Police Station
The Ilogbo Police Station in Oto-Awori, a Lagos suburb, is in a decrepit and unsanitary state, according to a check by our correspondent..
The check shows that the dilapidated bungalow has become a threat to the lives of the officers and suspects.
The building, which was built in 1994, is already sinking.
Our correspondent, who visited the station on Saturday, reports that there were cracks on the walls of the building with water coming out from the floor.
The condition of the building has, however, forced the officers and men attached to the station, including the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), to abandon it.
Some of the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, lamented that they had been forced to conduct their official duties under the tree in front of the station.
“Whenever it rains, it is difficult to enter the station as it is usually flooded. We cannot go into the building as we suspect it can collapse anytime.
“The building is sinking while the walls are cracking. The station is full of reptiles, such as snakes and alligators.
“We killed a snake in the collapsed toilet sometimes ago … it is unbefitting as a police station,’’ he said.
He called on the police authorities and the state government to intervene without further delay, by demolishing and rebuilding the station.
The DPO, ASP Jeremiah Onoja, told our correspondent :”The condition of the station is quite pathetic, it needs an urgent attention.
Contacted, the state Police Commissioner, Mr Umar Manko, who said he had yet to visit the station, also said that no official report had been brought to his office since he resumed office last month.
“I will soon embark on a tour of divisions and area commands in the state and I will check the station in question,’’ he said.
A community leader, Alhaji Waheed Yusuf, said residents of the area were being mobilised towards the rebuilding of the station.
“As a first step, we want to buy a new patrol vehicle for the station to enable the officers to work outside the station, since their office is almost going down,’’ he said.