FCTA nears completion of 12 Divisional Police stations to curb rural insecurity
As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen security in rural and border communities, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has said that the 12 new divisional police stations under construction across the six area councils is 90% completed and would be commissioned soon.
The initiative, driven by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, is aimed at decentralizing policing and bringing safety closer to underserved areas plagued by insecurity.
The projects, which began after the minister’s 2023 town hall meetings with community stakeholders, were conceived in response to rising cases of kidnapping, banditry, and violent crimes that rocked parts of Abaji, Kwali, and Bwari between late 2023 and early 2024.
Following approval by the FCT Executive Committee, construction commenced in September 2024 to address what Wike described as “unacceptable insecurity in border towns.”
During an inspection of the sites on Thursday, the Director of the Department of Security Services at the FCTA, Adamu Gwary, disclosed that 11 out of the 12 police stations have reached over 90 percent structural completion.
“Currently, 11 out of the 12 police stations have reached over 90% structural completion, with one yet to commence. Fitting works are also progressing, with many stations having virtually completed this phase. Overall, the projects are over 90% complete,” he said.
Gwary explained that each police station will include officers’ quarters comprising six two-bedroom flats, to ensure that personnel live close to their duty posts.
“These facilities will bring security closer to the people. With personnel stationed nearby, response times will improve, and policemen can effectively handle situations,” he added.
A visit to some of the ongoing projects at Tukashare and Saburi in AMAC, Bako in Kwali, Yaba in Abaji, Giri in Gwagwalada, and Ushafa in Bwari Area Councils showed significant progress. At the Saburi site, finishing works were ongoing, with engineers completing electrical and plumbing installations.
“We have completed the electrical and plumbing works, and we’re currently on the finishing fittings. By tomorrow, we’ll commence industrial cleaning and in two days’ time, we should begin painting.” Project engineer, Ahmed Yahaya, said.
Similarly, at the Yaba Divisional Police Station, located in a border community that shares boundaries with Niger State, site engineer, Engr. Ayinde Adewale, assured that the project would meet its delivery schedule.
“With the level of funding support we’re getting from the FCT Administration, we have no doubt about meeting the November deadline,” he said, adding that the strategic location of Yaba makes it a crucial deterrent against criminal infiltration.
Gwary explained that the projects are part of a broader grassroots security plan initiated by the minister to expand police coverage in rural and border areas.
“When the Minister assumed office, he directed that all abandoned or underused town halls in the area councils should be converted into functional police stations. The idea is to take policing closer to the people, especially in vulnerable and remote communities where response time is slow,” he stated.
He further noted that the facilities were designed to meet a new national prototype recently approved by the Inspector General of Police to standardize police infrastructure.
“If you go to the Police Resource Centre, you will find the same standard being replicated. What we have done is align the FCT projects with this national standard so that both the physical environment and manpower deployment can support efficient policing,” he said.
Residents of the benefiting communities have also welcomed the development with optimism. In Yaba, a farmer, Musa Yakubu, said the presence of a divisional police command would encourage economic activity.
“People will now come in freely to buy and sell farm produce because they know security is improving,” he said. A petty trader, Ibrahim Danladi, added, “Now we can begin to feel safer again.”
With the projects expected to be completed by November, the FCTA said the new divisional police stations would serve as a model for future police facilities in the territory and across Nigeria. Gwary assured that the administration remains committed to improving security infrastructure as part of Wike’s broader vision to restore public confidence in the safety system of the FCT.
