Rivers Police College converted into farms
From Victor Edozie, Port Harcourt
The Nigeria Police Training College, which is located at Nowa-tia, an agrarian Ogoni community in Tia Local Government Area of Rivers State, is in a terrible state. Wild grasses have taken over a larger part of the college, established in the 1980s to train recruits and other personnel of the force from the south-southern part of the country. It occupies over 4,000 hectares of land.
Daily Trust on Sunday observed that the Quarter Guard unit of the college, located at the left wing of the main entrance, has been washed off, just as the small building that serves as its reception unit carries the semblance of a garage.
Also, the college has no gate to check movement of persons in and out of its premises. Furthermore, the only access road to the college from the entry point is not tarred, and it has lots of potholes. It was also observed that a larger part of the road, sandwiched in-between thick bushes, was overgrown with grasses. The entire college is not fenced, a situation that gives room for encroachment by indigenes of the community, who have converted half of its premises to a farmland.
Asked to comment on the state of the college, two policemen at the entrance point simply referred our reporter to the commandant. At a worn out office with a defaced wall, the commandant, who refused to identify himself, also declined comment, saying he was not authorised to speak on the state of the college. He referred our correspondent to the Force headquarters in Abuja.
It was further observed that three dilapidated three-storey buildings, which stood face to face with the commandant’s office and separated by a bad road, were occupied by police officers who have accommodation challenges. The right wing of the college has another uncompleted three-storey building. The roof of the building is falling apart, just as its window frames are rusted and crying for attention.
Daily Trust on Sunday learnt that the the building project, which was awarded some years ago, was abandoned half way. The contracts for the parameter fence and roads were also abandoned. The two projects were awarded to yet-to-be identified contractors, who our correspondent gathered were mobilised with huge sums of money, but they absconded without putting any structure on ground. Because of the failure of the authorities concerned to fence the school, parts of its land have also been lost to speculators.
However, the college had provided business opportunities to indigenes of the area to supply foodstuff, toiletries, clothes and stationery to trainees and police officers.
“The establishment of the school was welcomed with joy by all the communities that donated lands for the project. The school also attracted many dignitaries who visited it on a daily basis. Successive inspectors-general of police had visited the college in the past. Each time they came, residents got to know because of loud blaring of sirens by their escorts.
“The school had grown small scale businesses as the trainees, visitors and their instructors patronised us. But since the college is no longer functioning, it’s ‘to your tents, Oh Israel,” Nunee Baridam, an indigene of Nowatia said.
Also speaking to our reporter, a major contractor to the institution, who did not want his name mentioned, said he was not happy at the state of the school. The contractor said he used to supply yam and other foodstuff to the college, but things are no longer the same since the college is no longer functioning.
“I was a big time supplier in the college. The school had hostels which were run by a caterer. I used to supply them yam and other food items in large quantities on a weekly basis. Business was booming, but since the school is no longer functioning, I have to look for other means of survival,’’ he said.
He called on the federal government to refurbish the school and provide all the needed facilities to make it functional.
A highly placed police source blamed the present state of the college on poor management and the insensitivity of the federal government.
The source, who did not want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said, “The college has been lying fallow since the last batch of the trainees graduated five years ago. The federal government said it had no money to train recruits here. We also learnt that there is no money to renovate the college and give it a facelift.
“The college is in two sections. One section is for the training of recruits and officers while the other section accommodates the counter-terrorism unit of the police. That unit was created to train our officers on counter terrorism. All the sections are not functioning now because we were informed that there is no money to train and maintain the college.
“The communities are encroaching on the college land. There is no parameter fence, and this has exposed the school to a whole lot of danger. You will find out that a large portion of land belonging to the college has been taken over by the community. They are farming on the land. I learnt that contract was awarded to erect a parameter fence around the college about five years ago, but the contractor abandoned the project after collecting huge sums of mobilisation money. Contracts were also awarded for the construction of an access road to the college. I am sure you saw the state of the road when you were coming to this place. The road has remained untarred, and a good portion of it has been over taken by grasses.
“Not only that, if you look at the right hand side of the college, you would see an uncompleted three-storey building. The building was abandoned half way. There are no windows, and parts of the roof have collapsed.
“The college is no doubt the biggest police training school in the entire South- South. The college is supposed to be the pride of Nigeria, but see what is left of it. It is a relic of rot, fraud and abandonment. It is really a shame of a nation,” he lamented.
According to a source close to the college, a needs assessment team which visited the school recently, promised to submit a recommendation that would turn things around positively for the police college. The source, who did not want his named published, said, “A couple of months ago, a team from Abuja visited the college. They inspected all the nooks and crannies of the institution, including facilities.
“The team, led by a high-ranking police officer, expressed shock at the level of decay at the institution and promised to make immediate recommendation that would turn things around. We are very hopeful that something urgent would be done to put the place in order.”
A former student of the institution, who simply identified himself as Benjamin, frowned at the poor state of facilities in the college. Benjamin lamented that since 2002 when he graduated, the school had remained a good example of a failed system.
“I passed out from the college in 2002. I am an Ogoni man from this community, and anytime I come close to this college I feel ashamed as a policeman. It does not, in any way, look like an institution. From the entrance to the entire premises, there is nothing good to talk about the college. I have never seen an institution that does not have a gate.
“There is no fence, and this has exposed the college to great danger. I have seen police training colleges in developed nations and in African countries such as Ghana. The shanties we call police colleges here are a different ball game from what is obtainable there. From the entrance to the premises, nobody needs to inform you that you are in a police college. But what we have here looks like a place where animals are trained. Could you imagine that an institution where police officers are trained would look like this? No wonder most of our police officers behave exactly the way this institution looks like. It is a replica of decay and total collapse,” he said.
On why parts of the college have been converted to farmlands, he said, “When you leave your property open, invaders will come in. The school has an expansive and fertile land, that is why many people are encroaching on it for farming. When the entire compound is not fenced and is abandoned, what do you expect people to do? They will use it for personal gains.
“I believe that police authorities do not have information about how the college looks like, where its land starts and where it ends.”
He called on the federal government to institute a high-powered investigative team on the activities of the college, especially as it concerns various contracts.
All efforts to get an official reaction from the management of the institution did not yield positive results.