The Sun News On-line|Abuja Reports

She is barely 13 years and had just completed her primary school. Unable to secure even one room apartment at the Bompai Police barracks in Kano nine months after being transferred from the Nasarawa State Command, Ameh, an Inspector of police literarily ‘distributed’ his family of six, including Angela, his beloved daughter, to be sheltered by family friends and colleagues.

Four months later, the Benue State-born cop got the shocker of his life: Angela, his daughter whom he could lay down his life in defense of her innocence a few months back, was pregnant. Worst still, his 58-year-old supposed family friend in whose care Angela was entrusted, was fingered as being responsible for the pregnancy. Two years thereafter, the hitherto tough cop is yet to fully recover from the devastating blow which has seemingly shattered his joy and love for the police force.

Elsewhere in Bayelsa State, another cop, Sergeant Amangada, is still in pains and sorrow, three years after loosing his five month old child due to his inability to live in a decent home. Alongside his wife and three kids, he lived in a makeshift structure constructed with planks, mats and cellophane materials. Though uncomfortable, he was at peace with his soul until a late night torrential downpour swept off his cheerful baby boy to the world beyond.

Amangada and Inspector Ameh are just two out of thousands of senior police officers and men out in the cold without decent shelter, and having soul-piercing tales of woe to tell. Available statistics showed that the accommodation problem facing the Nigeria Police had degenerated to the extent that 91.08 percent of the workforce are not quartered. In fact, out of a total of 412,475 personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, only 36,775 have official accommodation.

A breakdown of the figure indicated that out of 17,984 senior police officers, there are existing quarters for only 1,601, leaving 16,383 officers to their fate. Similarly, only 2,759 out of 26,356 inspectors are privileged to have official roof over their heads, just as 335,721 rank and file out of 368,135, are desperately in need of home to lay their heads. Consequently, only 8.90 percent of senior officers, 10.47 percent of Inspectors, and 8.81percent rank and file are presently quartered.

The Lagos State Police Command appears to be worst hit, going by the 2005 Annual Report of the Nigeria Police Force, which stated that "the alienation of Federal Government in Lagos adversely affected the police in no small way. Problems of residential accommodation for officers and men have skyrocketed since the Federal Government relieved the police of their houses in Lagos without alternative allocations".

However, central to the acute accommodation problem is poor funding by the Federal Government and lack of religious implementation of funds meant for the police works department. For instance, in 2005, the ‘C’ Works department reportedly got capital expenditure allocation of N5.097 billion for barrack development and N4,312billion for barrack rehabilitation, as well as recurrent allocation of N0.507billion. Ironically, the works department at the Force Headquarters annex in Lagos was said not to have received any capital expenditure allocation, but got recurrent allocation to the tune of N32,787,076.00 only for maintenance and repair of furniture, air conditioners, refrigerators, building repairs, and generator running costs, among others.

Evidently, the pathetic tales of his officers and men suffocating under heavy rains and burning sun as a result of lack of shelter has become a huge burden to the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro. The IGP is said to be miffed by the scandalous scenario, and has initiated moves to put smiles on the faces of his homeless officers.

Already, he has acquired 54 two bedroom units at the Brick city in Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and built 44 two bedroom units at the Kuje junction Police barracks, along the Airport Road in Abuja. Besides, Okiro has further acquired 26 two bedroom and 52 three bedrooms for accommodation of police officers and men at Mararaba, Nasarawa State. He has also put in place 120 units of two bedroom flats all over the country, and 24 units of four bedroom flats at the SPOs quarters in Asokoro, Abuja, just as he took possession of 30 units of three bedroom flats donated to the police by the Ekiti State government.

This is even as he vigorously pursued his pet project –the Police Housing Scheme, for which 22 state governments have provided land for development of the structures, while plans are almost concluded for the acquisition of about 76 housing units at Karu, an Abuja suburb. But with less than two years to his retirement, how far Okiro can go in his tall dream of provision of accommodation for his officers and men remains to be seen.