Stanley Uzoaru,Owerri
It was a remarkable day recently as the police in Imo State gathered at the headquarters of the state command to worship and give thanks to God for his mercies and achievements of the command in 2017.
The memorable event, a brainchild of the state Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike tagged “2018 New Year Inter -Faith Prayer and Thanksgiving Service” was designed to celebrate the achievements of the command, giving thanks to God for His protection as well as asking for a better 2018.
Wife of the state governor, Nkechi Rochas Okorocha who was the special guest of honour at the occasion led her team of prayer warriors lifted from one of her NGOs, “Women of Divine Destiny Initiative (WODDI).” whose sole aim is to pray for the state and the down-trodden to the event.
The joyful police officers irrespective of their ranks did not just listen to sermons from the various clerics invited, but also had great fun dancing with one another and the wife of the governor.
An ostensibly elated Mrs. Okorocha, who has built several bungalows for widows in the state, promised to build a two-bedroom bungalow for one of the wives of the late police officers in the command under her pet project She Needs A Roof Project (SNARP).
She also showered encomiums on the CP for organising the event, as well as the officers of the command for turning out en masse for the programme.
“Things will never go wrong in a state that gathers for God. I thought the only thing police do is to hold guns, I never knew that they can gather and sing, worship and praise God. I thank God for giving us a CP who is conscious of God. We are lucky in Imo State,” Mrs. Okorocha said.
CP Ezike, while reading from the scripture entitled “Lessons of the day” taken from the Book of Habakkuk 2:1-11 thanked God for all the great feats recorded by his men in 2017 while praying for a better outing in 2018.
He urged his officers to keep up with the spirit that stood them out last year just as he also counselled them against indiscipline and disrespect to duty.
He described the year 2017 as a “year of harvest of criminals,” saying that “we made high profile arrests that was responsible for a blissful celebration of the Yuletide last year, but we would not relent, with the event today, 2018 will be better than 2017.”
At the event that was well attended by both Christian and Moslem faithful, the Chief Imam of Imo State, Alhaji Dauda Onyeagocha, in his sermon, charged the police officers to be conscious of Allah’s injunction on justice and fairness, adding that the best way to combat crime was through good conduct.
He, thereafter, called for prayers from the public for the command.
In his exaltation drawn from the Book of Joshua 6: 1-6, the Chaplain of the Imo State Government House Chapel, Reverend Bunmi Babs, said that the police have a sacred duty of protecting lives and property.
He added that the police need to be respected and supported to encourage them in the discharge of their duties.
The chaplain commended the commissioner of police for seeking the help of God in fighting crime in the state, noting that “it is only God that can guide a city.”
