By – Memoye Oghu (Abuja)
Five years ago, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Akin Victor Fakorede reportedly told newshounds in an exclusive chat that his strict disciplinarian parents who shaped his choice of role models influenced his decision to abandoned the lucrative legal profession for which he spent six years to study for the Police Force.
According to him, he admired people like former Police Commissioner Fidelis Oyahkilome, who was also a one time governor of Rivers state and Joseph Iyamabo of blessed memory. He also said that serving public officials during his teenage years contributed to shaping up his choice of role models and profession in his adult life; for instance, people like the famous legal luminary, Richard Akinjide influenced his choice of law as a profession.
So, he enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force after his secondary school, rose within the ranks and had the privilege of achieving his desired goals in life as well as attending professional courses and training institutions in and out of Nigeria.
Some of the security trainings and courses he attended included National Security and Diplomacy Management Course at Galileo Institute, Tel Aviv, Israel; Humanitarian And Peace Support School, Nairobi, Kenya; United Nations Senior Management Course, Mogadishu, Somalia; Jesus College, Cambridge University, United Kingdom where he obtained a Certificate In Forensic and Financial Crimes Investigations as well as Advance Detective Courses at the Police College, Kaduna and Enugu respectively.
This rising super cop has bursted several crimes and criminal gangs that lowered crme rates wherever he’d served in his nearly three decades of sojourn in the Force. He’s an anathema to social miscreants and deviants because of his success rate at stopping them from armed Robbery, kidnapping and other criminal activities that make living in society sometimes difficult for law abiding citizens.
Based on his successes in crime control and his tendency to be able to read legal implications of security operations, the Presidency, it was gathered quickly moved him to very sensitive locations in Northern part of the country to help crack down on Boko Haram insurgency, terrorism and the menace of banditry shortly after the disbandment of the infamous SARS.
While he was in Rivers state as Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Police formations across the state and as SARS Commander, he was actively chasing criminals out of their nooks and crannies that led to the drastic reduction of Crimes in the state. It’s noteworthy to point out that with his legal background, he was able to secure convictions that sent many criminals to the penitentiary, especially the conviction of one Charles Emesiobi and others.
One of the most outstanding feats of this super cop while in Rivers State was the widely publicized recovery of 31 PVC Reader Machines from a bush believed to have been stolen from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
DCP Akin Fakorede is a special breed whose sense of duty in the fight against crime and criminality sent shivers down the spines of criminal elements. In the course of his career, he has etched his name on the sands of times through numerous achievements and accolades. He is an officer who knows his onions and puts in his best wherever he finds himself.
He has also traversed the globe, particularly in Africa on Police Peace Maintenance and Operations missions, where he served as Police Advisor to the Somalian Inspector General of Police in Mogadishu. “Yes I was at the United Nations in 2007 to 2009 in Darfur, Southern Sudan. I was also in East Africa with the African union in 2013 to 2015, so eventually I have done two types of duties in two different Missions.”
At Interpol, International Police Organization foreign service, Akin earned medals for his gallantry and display of good professional conduct amidst several challenges.
According to him, his experience in policing has been rewarding and challenging. “The Nigeria Police Force has given me a lot of opportunities. I have served with the United Nations (UN) under the UN African Mission in Darfur, a region in Western Sudan where a major armed conflict began in February 2003. I was part of the pioneer UN team in Darfur on December 30, 2007. I have also served with the African Union (AU) in Somalia. I have been privileged to go on overseas training,” he said.
DCP Fakorede has garnered several awards and accolades in the course of his security duties. But the one he cherishes most is that from the United Bishops and Eminent Clerics Initiative of Nigeria Inc because it came when the immediate past governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike and his allies in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) decided to declare war on this fearless Crime Fighter,
This publication learnt that that on October 5, 2017, when a delegation of the Niger Delta Bishops and Ministers’ Forum, aka United Bishops and Eminent Clerics Initiative of Nigeria Inc. came to present the award to him, he was highly elated.
He reportedly told the panel of interviewers referred to earlier on that: “The award was very inspiring, highly motivating and very sobering indeed. It was never arranged. I do not know the eminent personalities across the Niger Delta region who gave me the award. The award means that in the midst of all the noise and distractions, we still have people who genuinely recognised that we are doing so much to keep them safe.
“That is very humbling, and I am very grateful to all the members of the Niger Delta Bishops and Ministers’ Forum for the honour and their support.”
He however acknowledged that, “there have been challenges and there are challenges on a daily basis. I have escaped death on many occasions from armed gangs/armed robbers. I have accosted very daring groups of armed robbers in the Niger Delta, especially in Rivers State. We fought our way to escape. We had gun battles with various armed groups. God has always given us victory.”
The Ekiti state born crime buster and control expert attended the Command Children School for his early education before proceeding to the Nigerian Military School, all in Zaria, Kaduna State for his post primary school. A law graduate and a post graduate alumnus of the University of Calabar is also an alumnus of the Nigerian Law School, where he qualified to practice Law at the bar in any part of Nigeria.
Diligence and humility have been the hallmarks for his successes. “If you’re consistent and diligent at whatever level, maybe you’re an Office Typist, Cleaner or Operational Commander, if you’re diligent in your work, it may take time but one day somebody will notice your diligence and reward you.
“One thing about service is that you will always have an opportunity to prove yourself no matter how long it will take and if you are not a truant or a lousy and a disorganized person some supervisors will notice you at some point and will recommend you.”
He is married to Dr (Mrs) Oluwaseun Fakorede and the union is blessed with children.
