The Police Officers’ Mess, Old GRA, Port Harcourt, was agog on the 15th of July, 2026, as the Rivers State Police Command staged a grand statewide relaunch of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices, POCACOV. The event, held under the theme “Dangers of Cultism and Other Social Vices, and Their Adverse Effects on Society,” drew an assemblage of stakeholders determined to nip societal decadence in the bud.
In his keynote address, the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, CP Olugbenga Adepoju, psc, mnips, fcai, welcomed dignitaries with measured gravitas. He posited that the turnout was a resounding testament to a collective resolve to secure the future of the youth and to erect bulwarks against the creeping tide of cultism and allied vices across the state.
CP Adepoju paid glowing tribute to the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, psc, for birthing the POCACOV philosophy under the doctrine of “Policing With A Human Face.” He submitted that the IGP’s pivot from reactionary enforcement to preventive policing and community partnership has fundamentally recalibrated the architecture of public safety in Nigeria.
The CP did not mince words in outlining the non-negotiable objectives of the campaign. He averred that POCACOV’s primary mandate is to strike while the iron is hot — to intercept young persons at the precipice before they tumble into the abyss of crime. He declared that the Command would take the bull by the horns by taking advocacy directly to schools, worship centers, and communities.
Elaborating further, CP Adepoju stated that the Command is committed to identifying and extricating vulnerable youths who are being lured into the quagmire of cultism, drug abuse, gangsterism, and cybercrime. He emphasized that early counseling and intervention would prevent these social ills from metastasizing into hardened crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, and cult-related homicides.
On reformation, the Commissioner struck a conciliatory yet firm tone. He asserted that POCACOV is not about condemnation, but about restoration. He outlined a roadmap for rehabilitation that includes skills acquisition, psychosocial support, and structured reintegration — an initiative designed to return errant youths to the fold as law-abiding, productive citizens rather than pariahs of society.
In a rousing call to action, CP Adepoju charged every segment of society to pull its weight. He urged parents to keep a watchful eye, schools to reinforce moral instruction, religious leaders to preach against violence, traditional rulers to sanction cult activities within their domains, and the media to amplify values. He concluded that security is not the sole province of the police, but a shared burden.
Delivering the Rivers State POCACOV address, ASP Ogbuewe Captain Gabriel, PhD, the State Coordinator, lauded the National Coordinator, SP Ikwen Onne, PhD, for grassroots mobilization. He catalogued the hydra-headed vices POCACOV confronts — from internet fraud and examination malpractice to pornography and drug abuse — and stressed that eradicating them demands all hands on deck.
ASP Gabriel made a passionate appeal for material and logistical support. He noted that the campaign requires continuous production of advocacy materials, mobility for volunteers, public address systems for mass outreaches, and periodic media sensitization. He further called for stronger collaboration with the NDLEA, stiffer sanctions for complicit officers, and punitive measures against traditional rulers who harbor points of sale for illicit drugs.
The ceremony culminated in award presentations to patrons and deserving officers, lectures, and goodwill messages.
Dignitaries in attendance included SP Ikwen Onne, PhD, National Coordinator of POCACOV; ASP Blessing Agabe, Esq., the PPRO Rivers State Command; traditional rulers, school children, and POCACOV volunteers. CP Adepoju closed with a clarion call: let the message reverberate across the length and breadth of Rivers State — the era of condoning social vices is over, and POCACOV has come to stay.
