The Abia State police command on Saturday night held an appreciation cum farewell party to honour serving officers as well as four retired officers in the command.
The ceremony, which held at the Abia Hotels, Umuahia, according to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Chris Ezike, was to say thank you to all officers and men for a job well done during the Christmas and New Year celebrations.
He lamented that such ceremonies which formed the tradition of the Nigeria Police Force were being allowed to die off calling on officers and men of the Force not to all it die.
“We thought we should recognise our own. And to say well done to our officers, who have served their fatherland meritoriously.
“This is old tradition of the police but it is dying. My charge is please do not allow it to die.
“Any time you are not recognised by your own people, you feel seriously pained, hence we have decided to say well done to our retired officers.
“We also want to say thank you to all our officers and men for a job well done during the Christmas and New Year celebrations,” Ezike said.
The Police boss noted that the operatives of the command did well in keeping the crime level low during the festive periods and ensured that the ones that were committed during the period were busted.
Acknowledging that there were challenges, he said the command had made progress notwithstanding.
“So I feel we should come together, listen to good music, dance and interact in a convivial atmosphere,” he said.
Ezike, who was recently promoted as Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police also used the occasion to thank God for his blessing even as he recounted some of experiences on the job.
He noted that he had been able to penetrate into the communities, having institutionalised Community Policing “for which God rewarded me with the promotion adding, “I thought that I have come to the end of the road, but God has the final say.”
He said though the road through his career had been “bumpy and very rough,” he owed his success to the support and cooperation from his wife and officers and men in the force.
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The Commissioner also thanked Abia Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu for his assistance to the command which, he said, “made us to function effectively.”
In their goodwill messages, the AIG, Zone 9, Hosea Karma, and the Commander, 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Ohafia, Abubakar Ibrahim, commended Ezike for his exemplary leadership.
Karma said that he would forever be proud of him (Ezike) and his contribution to the growth of the Force, describing him as “a special breed in the force,”
Chief Ukpai Agwu, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the Governor, also showered sang the praise the men of Abia police command for their immense sacrifice and efforts in ensuring adequate security for lives and property in the state.
Agwu said that the police, in collaboration with other sister-agencies, especially the 14 Brigade, had successfully brought kidnapping and violent armed banditry to the barest level.
The retired officers honoured at the ceremony were Deputy Commissioners of Police, Sagir Abubakar and Samuel Ojo, and Asst. Commissioners of Police, Elizabeth Mfom and John Oguche.
