KEY POINTS

• FG assembles a smart police station, six officer quarters in Mpape, Abuja.
• The station is designed to tackle kidnapping, robbery and “one-chance” crimes.
• The project is one of the pillars in FG’s vision for a tech driven, community based police force.

The Mpape community of Bwari Area Council in Abuja is where the Federal Government has started construction of smart divisional police headquarters and six residential quarters for rank-and-file officers.

It’s part of a larger effort to modernize Nigeria’s policing system by applying technology and community based security measures.

The project is being led by the Ministry of Police Affairs to bring about security in the Mpape area, which had been threatened with kidnapping, robbery, and ‘one chance’ operators.

At the ground breaking ceremony, Minister of Police Affairs, Minister of Police affairs, Ibrahim Gaidam who represented by the acting Permanent Secretary, Yusuf Argungu said the initiative is of great importance to the protection of citizens and businesses.

Also present at the opening of office was Gaidam who stated that the presence of a divisional police headquarters will help secure commuters and enhance safety in the community.

He stated: “This location will protect citizens that commute daily to their activities from the dangers of kidnapping, one chance operations and robbery among other related crimes that affect people in the city.”

The project is only one part of a broader reform agenda aimed at creating a world class, technology driven police force that is inclusive, intelligence led and that engages communities and citizens.

Abuja’s security challenges to be tackled with tech powered policing

The Mpape smart police station, part of Federal Government’s vision of transforming the Nigeria Police Force to a modern, intelligence driven Force, was the construction of the smart police station. It follows a government drive to use the latest technology in policing and to encourage community engagement.

Minister Gaidam also stressed the government’s resolve to establish a more community and intelligence and tech driven police force. “The Federal Government is committed to working towards the emergence of a world class police force that is inclusive, intelligence led, technologically driven and community based,” he said.

It is also expected to enhance surveillance, help with intelligence driven operations and ultimately make the police more efficient. The government wants to improve security response times and make policing more proactive by upgrading Mpape’s existing police post to a divisional headquarters.

The local leaders welcome the development. Speaking, the District Head of Mpape, Alhaji Adamu Diga, thanked the Ministry of Police Affairs, the Nigeria Police Trust Fund and the Nigeria Police Force. The upgrade to the facility would significantly enhance the delivery of security services to the community, he noted.

The Federal Government wants to make life more comfortable for the officers by providing them with officer quarters and setting up a smart police station so to aid their capacity to deliver on their security role.