POCACOV sensitises 400 police students on right choices

The Lagos State Police Command, through the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), has sensitised about 400 students of the Police Children School, Ikeja, on the need to make responsible choices and shun cultism, drug abuse and other social vices.

The sensitisation programme, held on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, with the theme, “Right Choices, Great Future,” was designed to promote positive values and equip young people with the knowledge required to make decisions that would protect their future.

Speaking at the programme, a member of POCACOV, Mr Henry Bassey, urged the students to remain law-abiding and maintain open communication with their parents, teachers and other trusted adults, especially when confronted with threats, peer pressure or troubling experiences.

A mental health expert from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Dr Hezekiah Akinlade, also educated the students on the dangers associated with drug and substance abuse.

Akinlade urged the students to resist negative peer influence and adopt healthy habits, warning that experimentation with harmful substances could have serious consequences for their wellbeing and future.

The POCACOV Coordinator, Lagos state, SP Olivia A. Ugochukwu, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner of Police, CP Tijani Fatai, urged the students to remain focused on their education and choose their friends carefully.

She also advised them to respect their parents and teachers, obey the law and avoid behaviours capable of jeopardising their future.

According to her, early engagement with young people remained important in preventing cultism, drug abuse and other forms of anti-social behaviour.

The Command said the programme formed part of its preventive strategy of engaging young people early and promoting positive values as a means of combating cultism, substance abuse and other social vices in Lagos State.