Date: 2014-12-16

The Nigeria Police Force over the years has undoubtedly been confronted with numerous challenges which had unequivocally affected the discharge of its responsibilities.

Among the problems is non-availability of basic facilities, especially at police barracks provided as accommodation for the officers as well as their immediate families.

Unfortunately, the barracks rather than serving as comfort zones for the officers after the discharge of their duties daily, the reverse is the case.

A visit to any of the police barracks and quarters across the country will reveal the sorry state of the condition the security men and their families live.

It would be recalled that it took the intervention of the immediate past Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to renovate the Ikeja Police barracks in Lagos State shortly after he went on inspection of the Ikeja Police Academy. It was after noticing the sorry state of the barracks that the former police boss gave order for complete overhauling of the facility in order to improve the officer’s welfare. Similarly, he directed that complete renovation should be carried out in other decrepit barracks across the country.

Meanwhile, investigations conducted by National Pilot in some of the police barracks and quarters across Kwara State reveals that not much has changed.

Our findings revealed that renovation was done in some chosen barracks in Ilorin, the state capital while others have been neglected before the retirement of the former IG.   

It is however gathered that the unhealthy situation in the barracks has remained unchanged for several years as the inhabitants are helpless while waiting for government intervention.

Our correspondents who went round to monitor situation in the barracks observed the difficult situation and the untidy and unkempt environments the officers and their families live in.

It is said that were it not for the renovation carries out during Abubakar’s administration, the barracks had long been abandoned by previous administrations with no one checking out how the residents are coping with the situation which explains why the facilities have been left to decay.

Aside from majority of the buildings looking weak with tattered roofs, residents hardly have access to good toilets, kitchen and portable water supply, a situation which could be likened to that of a refugee camp.

More worrying is the fact that rent is being deducted from the officers’ monthly salaries without improving the living condition of the officers.

Similarly, the dilapidated apartments categorised into 3 and 2 bedroom flats as well as self-contain, most times are not spacious enough for the officers and their families.

Our correspondents equally observed that many families from different apartments still share toilets and bathrooms while in many cases some of those facilities have been abandoned due to their dilapidated state.

Some of the abandoned kitchens, toilets and bathrooms have had their windows and doors shattered and also surrounded by bush.

Some soak-away in the barracks already filled are left unattended to which often pollute the environment and in more than a few cases, human faeces could be seen in the damage sewage or littering the environment.

Also, rodents and reptiles move around unhindered within the premises of some barracks. The story has been a sad tale of utter neglect.

Speaking with National Pilot on the condition of anonymity, a Corporal at ‘B’ Division Police Station in Ilorin who disclosed that she has been living in the barracks for about 10 years said the situation in the barracks had remained the same since her arrival in Ilorin.

The corporal lamented that it is unfortunate the barracks were left unattended to a situation which has made the facilities inhabitable for police officers after their rigorous working hours in their various duty posts.

The corporal however thanked God that she is yet to marry, saying that she would soon move out of the barracks once she got married.

Also speaking with National Pilot, a Police Inspector at Alapa Divisional Police Headquarters who said he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the police command said among other things, the toilets at the division barracks were nothing to write home about while the water system of the toilets has since been disconnected.

He disclosed that the officers make use of nearby bush to defecate lamenting that the barracks was also left open to likely invaders without any fence to provide security around the quarters.

To this end, he called on the government to construct fence around the quarters as well as find a lasting solution to the problem of decaying and insufficient facilities at the various police quarters across the country.

Another female Inspector of Police at ‘A’ Division Police Station Ilorin lamented that some police quarters in the state have been built for over four decades with no proper maintenance to ensure they remain habitable for the officers.

She complained that majority of the kitchens and toilet facilities in the quarters have been in bad condition for several years, appealing to the Federal Government as well as Police Service Commission to look into the problems.

However in spite of the sorry state of the barracks, it is reliably gathered that policemen and women still jostle to secure accommodation there. It was gathered that police officers and men concurrently bribe officials in charge of the buildings in various police commands in the state.

It was disclosed that those posted to another division or command usually use their influence to ensure their apartments are allocated to their friends or anyone who pays substantial amount for such.

On the contrary, Corporal Salau (not real name) noted that in spite of the bad state of the barracks, he chose to stay there with his family due to the fact that he could not afford the exorbitant charges of agents and landlords in the state.

“This barracks is not too good for human habitation. But I think I have no other choice than to move out of the civilian residential apartment as my landlord which he increases at will.

“Although I can’t put a specific figure to the amount I pay monthly due to the newly introduced e-payment regime, the rent in the barracks can’t be more than N5, 000 which is far less than the amount I paid at my former residence,” he explained.

A Police Superintendent at the Kwara State Police Headquarters, Ilorin however said the situation in the barracks now could be described as far better than what it used to be.

He commended Abubakar’s administration for its initiative at renovating many dilapidating barracks across the country, saying that it greatly assisted in improving the standard of living of officers in the affected barracks.

According to him, before Mohammed Abubakar’s intervention, the country, the story was very ugly. Many at times, officers’ accommodation get flooded anytime it rains a situation which leaves officers wives and their children battling to secure their property.

“Before now, many officers have abandoned the barracks but the situation has changed for better,” he said.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that inhabitants of the barracks across the state occasionally embark on self-help projects to ameliorate their sufferings.

When contacted to comment on the poor state of barracks in the state, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Kwara State Command, Ajayi Okasanmi through a telephone interview with National Pilot said he was not in a better position to talk to the media regarding the situation in the barracks, directing the reporter to seek for such information from the Force Headquarters, Abuja.

On the issue of some buildings in the barracks that were earlier marked for renovation but later abandoned, Okasanmi also declined comment but explained that he is aware that the Inspector General of Police, Sulaiman Abba is doing everything possible to improve the welfare and living condition of the officers in the barracks across the country.

The police spokesperson said he believed that as soon as funds are made available general renovation would be carried out in those barracks.