The University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday inaugurated a renovated and upgraded police station within its premises.
The Chief Medical Director of UCH, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, said his administration was committed to ensuring that the hospital community, including workers, students and patients, were well protected.
Otegbayo explained that the facility was renovated to ensure effective policing of UCH and guarantee the security of lives and property within the community.
He said: “There have been a number of security breaches within the premises, and we do not want this to continue.
“A murder has been committed within this premise before, people have been attacked at night and some minor thefts have been happening.
“We place premium, not only on welfare and comfort of our staff and patients, but also on their security.
“We want to make sure our staff are able to do their work without fear.”
The Commissioner of Police in Oyo State, Nwachukwu Enwonwu, while inaugurating the police post, said police personnel would be deployed to the station immediately for protection against crimes and criminal elements.
Enwonwu described the station as a befitting environment for the men of the Nigeria police.
He said: “It is a thing of joy that this facility has been put in place to address the core security concerns of UCH.
“It is not an easy feat to come up with such a project.
“And let me assure you that we will commence security coverage within the hospital with effect from today.
“We will do deployment immediately and the police post will be functional, and we will provide the security cover to UCH and its environs.
“We have a very effective Divisional Police Officer, Yemetu, who will be supervising the activities of officers that will be here.”
According to enwonwu, lack of facilities and logistics hinder effective provision and maintenance of security and peace in some communities.
He added: “To provide adequate security for lives of people, we have some challenges with logistics.
“This is why we have been reaching out to communities for support to help us with facilities like this and help us with our mandate on securing the lives and property of everyone.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Police post has modern facilities and holding cells.
