The Commissioner of Police in Ogun State, Bode Ojajuni, has honoured 39 serving and retired officers of the command for their contributions to policing and service to the country.
Ojajuni presented commendation awards to five retired officers and 34 serving personnel during a ceremony held at the Police Officers’ Mess, Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta, on Monday.
The CP described policing as a demanding profession, saying officers who had devoted decades to protecting lives and property deserved recognition for their sacrifices.
“It is not easy to serve for 35 years. Police work is an onerous task. It’s full of anxiety and stress. For you to weather the storm, to put in your best to serve your country diligently, with fame, you cannot just go home like that. We have to bring you back to show appreciation and honour you.
“And it is our duty to do this for you because those behind us are also watching. If we do not honour you, when we go, they will not honour us, too. So, it’s going to be a generational issue of appreciating ourselves.”
Among those honoured was DST Anifat Bello, the Abeokuta Traffic Officer who retired in August and had also recently received recognition from the Inspector-General of Police.
Other retired officers recognised at the event included the former Special Weapons and Tactics Commander, CSP Salami Murphy; DSP Olaifa Emmanuel; DSP Ayanlola Olatunji; and DST Saanu Johnson.
The serving officers who received commendation awards included the Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, SP Shittu Bamidele; SP Gbenga Ademola; SP Balogun Sherrif; ASP Olupona Helen; and ASP Jimoh Lasisi.
Ojajuni said the recognition was also intended to encourage serving officers to remain committed to their duties and strive for excellence.
“It is also a lesson to those of us that are still in service; it will be an encouragement for us to do more. It will spur us to put more into our dedication to serve our country. And with that in mind, too, consciously, that we are going to retire one day, we are going to join you as elder statesmen.
“This is a lesson to officers that are still in the service: whatever you do, at the end of the day, there will be a scorecard. You will be recognised for doing excellently well or averagely well.
“So, it’s my charge to officers that are still in the service to please try their best to perform extraordinarily. Don’t stay at your duty beat alone, schedules alone; try to go extraordinary. It is that extraordinary effort that will distinguish you like the people that we are honouring today.”
Responding on behalf of the retirees, Murphy thanked the command for the recognition, stressing that retirement had not ended their willingness to contribute to society.
“We are retiring today, but I want to assure you that we are not tired. At any point in time that our services to humanity will be required or requested, we are there for the Ogun State Police Command, Nigeria Police and Nigeria at large,” Salami said.
