Christopher Oji
On Friday February 14, while millions of people celebrated the Valentine’s Day, men and officers of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) were involved in more spiritual endeavours.
The strike force of the Nigeria Police dedicated a new worship centre tagged Able God Chapel at the IRT annex at the GRA, Ikeja Lagos.
The police officers virtually sang praises and danced, and many residents of the area came out and participated in the praise and worship session.
The chapel was built by the coordinator of the IGP-IRT, Lagos annex, Philip Rieninwa, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
The leader of IRT, Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police unveiled the plaque of the chapel. He said: “I came from Abuja to commission this house of God built by CSP Philip Rieninwa. I am so happy that the chapel has become a reality. We have a mosque in the premises too. We have officers who belong to either of the religious divides. The worship of God is paramount. As we police the nation, we need to police with the fear of God. Whether you are a Christian or a Muslim, we must have time to praise God and make supplication to him. I congratulate Rieninwa for the initiative and I encourage my officers to take time in communing with God. But I must advice that the worship of God should not affect their output.
“They should remember that God appreciates when officers do their jobs with more dedication. It is our duty to fight criminals, especially kidnappers and armed robbers. We must carry the war to their doorsteps. Our work is a tedious and risky one and that is why we should take time to worship God, because he is the one that protects our families and us while we are carrying out our mandate of crime fighting and setting captives free. On behalf of the Inspector-General of Police and in the name of God, I declare this chapel open.”
Earlier, the command’s chaplain, Ezekiel Ugbotor, a Superintendent of Police (SP), had noted: “It is a good thing to build for the Lord. We must be in the house of the Lord. CSP Rieninwa is a wise man because he built for the lord. Check out those who built for the lord, they never regretted it. I want to thank DCP Kyari for giving his subordinate the chance to build a place of worship in the IRT premises.
“I want to advise officers and men of IRT to take time to come inside the chapel. It does not mean that you have to spend hours in church. You can come in, spend a few minutes, and go to your beat. The worship of God is very important and we, as police officers, should praise Him always.
“Through our sermons, I believe that many people will be touched and souls shall be saved. We can also pray for our families while we are at work. The service is interdenominational; we don’t care the church you worship in. It is for Christians. Christians should rise up always and appreciate Jesus. Without God, we are nothing.”
Rieninwa, who built the chapel, said: “The chapel is named Able God Chapel because it is only him that has been sustaining us. As policemen, we confront criminals daily and he is the one that has been protecting us. With what we see in the course of our duties, his interventions are too numerous to mention. That was why I decided that we should have a place of worship for him.
“I thank the IGP, who is so considerate in the things that affect police officers. I also thank my commander, DCP Abba Kyari, who is like a father to us. He is so detribalised and operates an open-door policy that we are free to tell him our challenges, which he will solve instantly. I pray that God will touch every soul that enters this place of worship. I pray that God will answer our prayers each time we ask for a favour in this place of worship. In IRT, we live like brothers, which is why you see everyone, whether Christian or Muslim, dancing to the glory of God. God is able and we should cast our burdens on him. As you are going for your primary assignments, come and ask God for journey mercies and success.
“To be candid, Able God Chapel was created by God Almighty because, in this IGP-IRT, Lagos annex, God Almighty has been doing exceedingly well here. Our main office is in Abuja, where the commander is based. I can stand without fear to state that Lagos State annex has contributed a lot to what IRT is today. The commander himself can confirm it.
“There has been no loss of life since the creation of this annex, since a decade of its establishment. We have scaled through in terms of fighting crime: the arrest of the most wanted kidnap suspect, Evans, in Lagos; arrest of suspected kidnappers of Turkish School students; arrest of notorious kidnap suspect, Americana; arrest of killers of Owan in Festac, and the arrest of the kidnappers of Oba of Iba in Lagos. These are enough testimonies.
“This God is so marvellous in protecting and guiding us as we go out and come in. And this also leads to special recognition and special promotion for the work we are doing. So, we have nothing else to do than to build a place of worship for this wonderful God, for what he has done and what he would yet do. So, we decided that church and mosque should be erected here. Every morning, we will enter the church and before we go on any operation, such as tracking, or anything, we will hand it to the able God, hence the name ‘Able God.’”