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Eleme near Port Harcourt with over 200 companies has been a hotbed of violence caused by assassinations and robberies. The latest assassination of a female lawyer who just came back from court where she was seeking justice for her assassinated brother shook Eleme to its foundations.
Now, a new police boss, Taiwo Amos, a Superintendent of Police, says there must be no room for crime and insecurity so as to allow business room to create wealth and jobs. The
Eleme is one of the 23 local government Areas that made up oil-rich Rivers State and is regarded as Nigeria’s industrial hub or heartbeat of the economy because of playing host to over 120 multi-national oil and gas companies or over 200 general-interest companies. Notable among them are Onne oil and gas free zone, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), world-class Indorama-Eleme Petrochemicals and Fertilizer Company, Notore Fertilizer, and the Port-Harcourt Refinery among others.
Commercial or industrially rich cities all over the world accommodate the good, ugly and the bad elements. So it is with Eleme industrial area which has an estimated population of over 500,000 people occupying a land mass of 4,00 square kilometers.
Before the dawn of politics in 1999, Eleme stood out as one of the most crime-free areas in Nigeria with congenial space for people especially non-indigenes. Commercial and industrial activities grew in leaps and bound but since political activities began to dominate, crimes of all classes such as kidnapping, rape, armed robbery, and cultism also began to grow with their hydra-headed tentacles.
The 46-year-old lawyer with over 30 merit awards said, “My ambition is to stand by the society and fight for their protection and justice but my indifference to the police work is sometimes one is given a sudden transfer from a place of duty to another without being given enough opportunity to accomplish one’s action plan. However, I am religiously guided by my dedication, zeal and grace from God the Almighty to ensure that I deliver to the satisfaction of the authorities”.
The DPO does not hide his disappointment over poor treatment by the so called multi-national companies operating in Eleme, scoring them zero in their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to his division. “These companies show no concern over our welfare and our logistics challenges but they always run to us when they have a labour or security challenges in their domains”, he lamented.
He also lashed at the modern crop of young Nigeria police officers and men whom he said were drown to the spirit of get-rich-quick syndrome without the spirit of patience and zeal to learn the work. “I expect the new age officers to approach the work with diligence, follow the steps of their seniors with cognate experience and track records without lobbying for ranks or postings”.
The Rivers State University of Science and Technology law graduate said the serial success story of his division since he assumed duty speaks for itself, pointing out that from January to November 2017, he had received over 30 merit awards from different organisations including a most recent one from the Niger Delta Media Group in Rivers State. To him, this goes to show that people were watching the police. “What we can give back in return is our uncompromised discharge of duty to guarantee the security teams covering their lives, business environment, social, political and civil development”, the DPO re-iterated.
The DPO in a response after an award, admitted that, “On assumption of duty in the Eleme division I inherited a crime hot-bed to contend with though my calling is synonymous with crime-busting from my previous divisions in the country like Awka in Anambra State, Edo and Rivers, Kebbi State. Eleme division is very critical to us taking into cognizance as an economic heartbeat of the Nigeria hosting world class companies.”
Following the blazing high level of crimes he met on ground, Taiwo the crime buster of 22 years record on his shoulders said he strategized with his divisional management team which include divisional crime officers one and two, patrol and guard 1-4, Divisional Traffic officers (DTOs 1-4), surveillance, under-cover, LIMA’S strikers one and Anti-robbery squad to face the insecurity challenges head-long.
To many observers, Superintendent of Police (SP), Amos, barely one year on the saddle, is using a magic wand to fight crime in Eleme. This is based on the philosophy of “he, who fails to plan, plans to fail”. On his shoulders now is a pyramid of accolades from most Eleme people and strangers alike, and business operators.
Among such is the Care-Taker-Committee (CTC) chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Obarilomate Ollor, a chief, who in an interview with BDSUNDAY described the DPO as a serial achiever for successfully fighting criminality to its lowest level; rescuing peace from the clutches of cultists, kidnappers and armed robbers who were operating across the Eleme land.
He attested that one of the communities in Eleme called Ebubu “was a hot-bed of criminals that almost turned the place into a ghost town, but through synergy involving others with the DPO-led Division; security is said to have been restored in the area. “A number of cultists, armed robbers and kidnappers have cleared out while a good number of them turned a new leaf by embracing amnesty offered by the Rivers State governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike”.
An Eleme Royal father and high profile business technocrat, the chief, Appolus Chu, also praised the DPO, describing him as an unparalleled security savvy that has endeared himself to the heart of Eleme people and the business community at large.
Also, the General Overseer (G.O) of the Commonwealth Covenant Church Alode Eleme, the arch bishop, Moses Kattey, acknowledged the efforts of the DPO since his assumption of office, attesting that people in Eleme now move about and do their business without fear as presence of police is felt 24 hours in all nook and cranny of the business community.
Kattey said the DPO’s security strategy was yielding commendable results as killing by cultists and armed robbery including kidnapping have reduced to the barest minimum, pointing out that a large number of criminal elements in Eleme embraced the state government’s amnesty programme as they voluntarily dropped their arms. He said those who have come together now fight those who are not willing to repent.
The clergy man noted that community policing was effective in the area following co-operation by members of the public who availed the DPO with classified information against robbery, cultism or kidnap plots which the DPO’s team rapidly responds to when called upon any hour of the day.
Also speaking, the paramount ruler of Alesa community, John Nkpe, and the Eleme council youth president, Brain Emere Gokpa, attested that the current SP Taiwo-led Eleme police division has raised the security bar. He said crime rate has reduced by 90 per cent, saying this was an unprecedented feat so far.
What gave impetus to the division’s showering success is the community policing receiving enormous co-operation from members of the communities especially their chiefs and youth leaders who volunteer information and logistics assistance by an Eleme patriotic high chief Appolus Chu whom the DPO attested to have voluntarily repaired the station’s operational vehicles which no Eleme man nor the companies there have ever done.
Newsmen observed that no fewer than five obsolete operational vehicles were grounded at the station except two Ford Hilux vehicles given by the state police command. However, the DPO said the perennial operational challenges have not stopped his division from rising up to face any insecurity challenges any hour of the day in the area.
Godwin Egba, Port Harcourt
