Reforming Command for effective policing

Transformed Command

Transformed Command

It didn’t take residents of Akure South Local Government in Ondo State long to know that there was a new kid on the block. The new kid, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), is none other than the renowned Barrister Dan Nkem Okoro. 

Okoro, fondly called ‘Mr. Transformer and Mr. Achiever’ by those who are close to him, didn’t waste time in exhibiting one of the traits he was well known for; transformation of police stations and formations.

Okoro

For reasons best known to him, unlike other policemen, Okoro likes transforming any office he finds himself. He also likes carving a niche for himself; embedding himself in the memories of officers and residents wherever he works. Before he was transferred to Akure Area Command, in Ondo State, he was the Area E Commander, Festac Town, Lagos State. Okoro not only left his marks on physical structures of Area E Command, he also achieved acclaimed investigative feats that left, not just Lagosians and policemen stunned, but also Nigerians.
Okoro, under the Lagos State Police Command was a role model in the po¬lice. A good number of policemen dubbed him, an ‘accomplished de¬tective.’ He had been described by many as a gallant warrior, having used his personal funds several times to pursue investigations to its logical conclusions. 

He has severally made the Police proud. His successes in uncovering killers of three ladies at various times and different circumstances within Festac in Lagos were widely acknowledged and applauded. There are the Cynthia Osokogu, Ijeoma Nwa¬chukwu and Lizzy Njideka Nzewi murder cases.
Okoro displayed professionalism that could only be equated to the FBI or Metropolitan Police method of operation. The three ladies were killed by their trusted lovers. Okoro was also instrumental in unraveling a baby factory in the eastern part of the country, where rich women were exploited.
The women were given herbs to induce fake pregnancy. Later they were given stolen babies. For a regular visitor to the Area Commander’s office in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the former surrounding of the command, often sneered and jeered by many complainants, suspects and visitors as a pigsty, has now become a sight to behold.
This is courtesy of the new area commander, Okoro. Apart from the office of the Area Commander that now wears a new look; the environment of the Area Command has been rehabilitated. In the when the staircase leading to officers’ offices was rusting and dirty. A visit to the office recently showed a new look as all the offices in the former Police Headquarter, along Oyemekun Road, in the state capital have been renovated.
A policeman in one of the departments said: “Okoro has taken it upon himself to see to the rehabilitation of all the offices in the Area Commander’s office, especially the offices that usually witness human traffic.” A visit to the Motor Traffic Department (MTD), Anti-Robbery Section and administrative offices in the Area Command showed that some of the old chairs have been changed.
Tiled floors have replaced worn out carpets. Some of the officers said the new development make them want to stay longer in the office, rather than look for reasons to dash home or leave office.
According to them, the former conditions of the offices were abominable. Aside the rehabilitation of the environment, sources in the Area Command said Okoro now leads routine patrol during the day and night in order to make sure the state capital is secured. The source added: “Since Okoro resumed, violent crimes, including robberies have reduced. He placed himself and his men on red alert.
He is as hard on himself as he is hard on his men. He doesn’t spare himself.” The banking sector in the area is presently applauding Okoro. Immediately he was drafted to the Command, he took a tour of his jurisdiction, zeroing in on the black spots. He started the patrol of banks. “It was actually the patrol of banks that led to the discovery of a tunnel being dug by some suspected robbers that apparently wanted to rob UBA bank, along Alagbaka some weeks ago.
The robbers dug the tunnel, right into the banking hall,” said a police officer. It was also learnt that the Area Commander usually lectures Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and officers under his supervision on the new crime fighting techniques. He also teaches them the importance of being civil to members of the public. The area commander and his men were often heard to have said they were ready for criminals.