By Moses Omorogieva
The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr Adegoke Fayoade, on Tuesday said that the command arrested no fewer than 131 suspected armed robbers within the last five months.
Fayoade disclosed this when he received Mr Olatoye Durosimi,,the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Lagos, who was at the command’s headquarters on a working visit.
He said that 46 robbery operations were foiled, while 142 suspected cultists were arrested within the period under review.
He also disclosed that 28 suspected kidnappers were arrested, while the command recorded 50 murder cases, with 67 murder suspects arrested.
Fayoade further disclosed that 38 traffic robbery suspects were arrested and charged to court, while 63 arms and 90 ammunitions were recovered from the suspects within same period.
He said that 212 vehicles, 7,002 motorcycles were impounded for traffic law violations, adding that 3,793 other vehicles were also impounded for plying BRT lanes.
The commissioner, who commended the officers and men of the command for their relentless efforts to secure the state, noted that challenges in policing in the ever-growing state had been considerable.
He said in view of the growth and number of people coming to the state daily, there was need for more personnel to be deployed there.
“It is important and necessary to point out that the state is in dire need of more policemen and more divisional police headquarters to meet the UN standard and contend with the geometric increase of Lagos population.
“The challenge of policing this ever-growing city has been considerable.
“The daily influx of people seeking opportunities in Lagos continue to give us reasons to be pragmatic, reinvigorate and adapt our security architecture to effectively ensure safety and security of residents of Lagos,” he said.
The AIG Zone 2, in his remarks, said that the security of the state was the business of all, stressing, however, that more men would be deployed to the state from the new recruited personnel.
Durosimi said that the zonal command had mobilised Ogun and Lagos commands to provide adequate security on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and Lagos- Badagry Expressway.
He said that Oyo command was also joining the two commands for adequate security at the Lagos-Ibadan axis.
The AIG also assured of adequate security at the waterways of the two states, saying that the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olukayode Egbetokun, had approved the deployment of more patrol boats for the marine police.
He urged the officers and men to put in their best whenever they were on duty, saying “police job is a contract with God.”
He warned them against detaining suspects for bailable offences, noting that they should only detain if such offence warranted it. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Deborah Coker/Folasade Adeniran
