Mgt Pledges Support For New Police Area Commander
Following the recent appointment of Mr Stephen Okunade as new helmsman of the Choba Area Command of the Nigeria Police, Management of the University has assured him of unflinching support that would enable him accomplish his mission. The assurance was given when Mr Okunade who is an Assistant Commissioner of Police paid a getting–to-know-you visit to Management of the University on Friday, September 20, 2019.
“The University and its neighbourhood are very challenging environments to fight criminal activities and other deviant behaviours. I am very pleased to know that the hierarchy of the Police chose a competent officer like you for this important and very sensitive job. We still have the issue of land encroachment by some elements in our host communities and we hope your tenure would be remembered as the one that enabled us to contain the unwholesome activities of land speculators. Secondly, this University has zero-tolerance for cult related activities. We have had a wonderful relationship with the Area Command in Choba and the Inspector-General Monitoring Unit in Aluu. Their uncommon dedication to duty has brought crime in the University to its barest minimum. I charge you to do more to stamp out the remnants of criminal-minded elements from the campus and our neighbourhood,” the Vice Chancellor charged the new Area Commander.
Professor Lale further appealed to the Area Commander to deploy more patrol teams to the University—especially the Ashgrove Academy to secure that axis of the institution. “We would continue to count on your assistance as always and let me assure you that we would do whatever is within our powers to support your operations aimed at keeping us safe,” the Vice Chancellor said.
Earlier in his address, the new Area Commander, Mr Okunade, expressed gratitude to Management for the warm reception accorded him since he assumed duty, recalling his previous stints in Port Harcourt. “I have been in Port Harcourt for a long time and I know the environment very well. I was redeployed to the West before returning to the State as a Chief Superintendent of Police in 2016 and I am very happy to be in this neighbourhood as the new Area Commander. Our ultimate goal is to work towards a peaceful community and I am also aware of the activities of cult groups who are bent on disrupting the peace of the University and its neighbourhood. I wish to assure you that this place would be trouble-free under my watch and let me use this opportunity to warn criminal elements to stay clear of this area as there will be no hiding place for them on my watch,” Mr Okunade told Management.
In her contribution, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor Regina Ogali, expressed gratitude to the new Area Commander for finding time to familiarise himself with the University on his assumption of office. She further charged Mr Okunade to quickly settle down to tackle the enormous security challenges in his new operational environment.
Also present were the Area Crime Officer, Superintendent of Police, Mr Obi Ikechukwu and Station Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Ozim Goddey, including Principal Officers of the University.
