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The 23rd of October 2020 is a day that people in Ogungbade, Kukumoda, Aba Igbira, Amero, Papa, and Adeji won’t soon forget.
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Residents of the communities still think back on that day since one of the projects they had funded was demolished.
In the Egbeda Local Government Area of Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, the settlements are situated along the brand-new Ife/Ibadan Expressway.
It was the day that the single police station in the local government area, Ogungbade, which served more than thirty (30) communities, caught fire.
The new Ife/Ibadan expressway is only a little over a kilometer from the police station.
Following an investigation by Cezzatech during a recent visit to the communities, it was discovered that the landlords in these communities had invested their funds in the construction of the police station a few years prior in an effort to lower the number of armed robberies in the neighborhood.
However, the people’s wish was curtailed on Friday, October 23, 2020, when some criminals used the EndSARS demonstrations as cover to torch the police station.
Protests against SARS
A few weeks before the protests that erupted in Nigeria’s main cities and towns, what became known as the EndSARS protests made headlines.
The demonstrations, which caused economic disruption in major cities, have been called the best-organized youth rallies in Nigeria in recent memory.
EndSARS is described by Wikipedia as a decentralized social movement and a string of large-scale demonstrations against police brutality in Nigeria.
The Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a division of the Nigerian Police with a lengthy history of alleged violation of Nigerian citizens’ rights, is to be disbanded, according to the motto.
Residents claim that protesters used EndSARS as an excuse to burn down the Ogungbade police station.
Some irate youngsters used the ENDSARS demonstrations as an opportunity to torch the police station.
According to the locals, the community members self-financed the construction of the police station.
According to the locals, the villages contributed roughly five million naira toward the cost of the police station (N5m).
In spite of repeated requests from the landlords on that fateful day, the police station was reportedly burned to the ground by the hoodlums.
Early on Friday, October 23, 2020—after the residents who had protected the police station from invasion had left—the police station caught fire.
Although they kept watch until 12 am on Friday to stop the thugs from torching the police station the day before (Thursday, October 22, 2020), many of the locals were shocked to wake up to see their investment on fire.
This is how the Ogungbade police station in Oyo State, which is a police station under the Egbeda Divisional Police Headquarters, was destroyed by fire.
According to Cezzatech’s investigations, between Tuesday, October 20, and Friday, October 23, 2020, about seven (7) police stations in Oyo State were either entirely or partially burned during the EndSARS rallies.
Only one police station is located in Iseyin, compared to six (6) in Ibadan.
Ogungbade Police Station, Ojoo Police Station, Iseyin Police Station, Egbeda Divisional Headquarters, Gbagi, Adelubi Police Station, Alabebe Police Station, and Akobo Police Station are the impacted police stations.
Patrol cars, impounded cars, and cars parked next to the stations were among the objects burned in the impacted police stations, according to Cezzatech.
Cezzatech discovered that these police stations have seen the burning and vandalism of over forty (40) automobiles in total.
The enraged youngsters destroyed further objects, including electrical devices, generators, and other office supplies.
The hoodlums took away a number of weapons and ammo, including firearms, rifles, and other security equipment during the protests.
The Ogungbade police, according to the locals, were finished around seven (7) years ago.
It took one year and six months to build.
During a visit on Friday, neighbors told Cezzatech that they had given the money—roughly five million naira—seven years prior to the police station’s completion.
According to the locals, six vehicles together with the police station were set on fire.
Two years after EndSARS, Ogungbade Police Station
The burned-out portion of the police station hasn’t been rebuilt, nevertheless, two years after it was destroyed by fire.
The police station is still exactly as it was when it was demolished two years ago, according to Cezzatech’s most recent inspection.
The primary area of the police station that burned down during the protest is still in ruins, it was found.
In a similar vein, the burned-out vehicles from the protest have not been removed from the station.
Residents converse
During a Cezzatech tour to the neighborhoods, some of the landlords who spoke voiced displeasure with the police station’s current state.
One of the locals, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed amazement that the police personnel were still using temporary buildings as offices.
The temporary buildings are still being used as offices by the police officers. The main station was destroyed by fire two years ago during EndSARS, but it has not been rebuilt.
“We urged the State administration to take this community into consideration when building the police station. This station was finished seven years ago. We can only ask the governments to rebuild the police station for us now that it has burned down, he said.
According to Alhaji Lanre Latinwo, a local leader, the police station provided services to a number of communities in the Egbeda Local Government Area.
From Ife Road up to Papa, Oki in Iwo Road, this police station served a number of settlements, the man added. It served numerous localities. It was built by the locals for between 5 and 10 million naira, and we gave it to the Oyo State Police command.
But during the EndSARS, the main police station, which held the DPO office, an armory, a cell, and offices, was destroyed by fire. It is still there in the same condition as when it was burned in 2020; it has not been rebuilt.
The cops are currently using stores close to the main structure.
In September, the Landlords’ Association started collecting money for rehabilitation.
The local landowners have stated that they are working to rebuild the destroyed station.
The townspeople highlighted that they started raising funds for the police station’s reconstruction in September of this year.
Alhaji Lukman Akinpelu, vice president of the Kukumada/ Ogungbade and Environs Landlords/ Landladies’ Association, who also spoke to Cezzatech on Monday, stated that the locals are presently working to reconstruct the station.
“It was burned in October 2020,” he remarked. It has therefore been there ever since. Although all of our efforts, including those of the DPO of Gbagi, have been in fruitless, they claimed that the government wanted to repair it. Recently, the Area Commander visited; he promised to write a letter converting it to Divisional Police Headquarters, but the situation remains the same.
“They told us to go reconstruct it when they had returned. They instructed us to rebuild it, thus recently we have been trying to raise money for it. There are now only two patrol vans in Egbeda, therefore we plan to use the funds to purchase a third. We made a contribution of one thousand naira (1,000) for each residence, but later on, someone gave us a golf car, which we used as a patrol van.
“Consequently, we used the funds to rebuild the police station. The action was taken in September. We completed 10 pillars. Some rooms have had plaster applied. We continue to provide financial support for the police station’s renovation.
