CP OJAJUNI JOINS CATHOLIC FAITHFUL, CALLS FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE

CP OJAJUNI JOINS CATHOLIC FAITHFUL, CALLS FOR PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE 

By Jennifer Nwosu 

Faith, service and the quieter work of building a peaceful society converged at St. Martin’s Police Catholic Church as the Ogun State Commissioner of Police, CP Bode Ojajuni, joined Catholic faithful and senior police officers for a ceremony that blended spiritual renewal with a message of national cohesion.

According to a statement released by the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Oluseyi B. Babaseyi, the occasion brought together the Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese, Most Rev. Dr. Peter Olukayode Odetoyinbo, police officers, families and members of the Catholic community for three significant ceremonies marking a milestone in the life of the Police Catholic community.

At the heart of the gathering was the Sacrament of Confirmation administered to 65 candidates by Bishop Odetoyinbo. Families and members of the Police community watched as the candidates took another step in their faith, turning the ceremony into both a religious observance and a moment of communal celebration.

The Bishop also blessed the newly constructed Grotto of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a facility intended to provide a quiet setting for prayer and reflection. The programme continued with the foundation-laying and blessing of the Catholic Chaplains’ House, which will provide accommodation for Catholic chaplains and support their pastoral responsibilities within the Police community.

For CP Ojajuni, however, the occasion carried a wider message. He congratulated the newly confirmed candidates and commended the Catholic community for its emphasis on faith, discipline, peaceful coexistence and service.

He used the gathering to underline the importance of religious tolerance in a country as diverse as Nigeria. The Commissioner stressed that citizens must be able to practise their faith without fear or discrimination, while religious leaders have an important role in promoting understanding and resisting extremism, intolerance and ideas capable of fracturing social cohesion.

His message placed religion within the broader architecture of public security. Peace, he suggested, is not built solely through patrols, arrests or tactical operations. It is also cultivated through communities that respect difference, reject violence and give citizens reasons to trust one another.

The Commissioner also praised the Catholic Chaplain, CSP Rev. Fr. Paul Omotosho, for his commitment to the spiritual welfare of police personnel and the wider Catholic community. He noted that spiritual and moral guidance can complement professional discipline by encouraging integrity, responsible conduct and a stronger sense of duty among officers.

The ceremony ultimately offered a picture of policing beyond the conventional machinery of law enforcement. At St. Martin’s, the emphasis was on faith, character and coexistence, the softer architecture of security that can be just as consequential in a society where religious and ethnic differences often test the limits of unity.