RAYMOND OZOJI reports
The Anambra State Commissioner of Police, CP Ikioye Orutugu, has condemned the deplorable condition of the Ihiala Area Command, describing its current state as “shameful and unacceptable.”
The Commissioner expressed his displeasure during an inspection visit to the command as part of his ongoing sensitization tour of police formations across the state ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
CP Orutugu lamented the level of destruction and neglect at the facility, questioning how residents could allow such decay to persist after the damage inflicted during the #EndSARS protests.
“It is unbelievable that an area command located in a community blessed with successful and influential individuals could remain in this terrible state, with no visible effort from the people to rebuild what was destroyed,” he said.
According to him, the Ihiala Area Command has no operational vehicles, while buildings remain burnt and unrepaired, leaving officers to operate under dehumanizing conditions while still providing security for the community.
“It is shameful that the Ihiala Area Command is in such a sorry state — no patrol vehicles, no infrastructure, and officers working in unimaginable conditions to protect this same community,”
“Ihiala has many prominent sons and daughters who are capable of rebuilding these facilities, providing vehicles, and motivating the police to perform better. Yet, nothing has been done.”he fumed.
CP Orutugu further described it as disgraceful that some residents had once woken up and destroyed government property built for their own benefit.
“These structures were built on Ihiala land, not elsewhere. No outsider can come here to destroy them without insiders, it was done by people from within. If you keep waiting for the government to rebuild them, what happens if anger rises again? Will you not destroy them once more?” he asked.
He emphasized that the responsibility of protecting public property lies with every citizen, urging residents to take ownership of security infrastructure in their communities.
“I have never seen anything like this. The #EndSARS protest did not start here, yet criminals hijacked it to burn police facilities and loot public assets. We must protect our institutions, not destroy them,” he warned.
CP Orutugu called on community leaders, political stakeholders, and influential individuals in Ihiala to urgently support the reconstruction of the command, provide logistics, and collaborate with the police to restore effective security operations in the area.
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