We’ve weakened capacity for kidnapping in Lagos, says Sanwo-Olu

IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – Security strategies put in place by the Lagos State Government has yielded fruits with the reduction in the spate of crime in the State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed on Tuesday. Sanwo-Olu said some of the security challenges inherited by his administration at inception had been largely contained, but said his Government was not resting on its oars to keep the State safe for business and living.

The Governor made the disclosure after the State’s final Security Council meeting in the year. After the meeting held behind closed doors in Alausa, Sanwo-Olu led members of the Council to brief the State House reporters about security actions to be taken by the Government in the coming New Year.

Sanwo-Olu said incessant kidnapping was part of the security challenges facing the State when he took over the leadership in May 2019. He noted that strategies deployed by the Government to confront the scourge had significantly brought down kidnapping and led to positive reviews of the crime in the final quarter of the outgoing year.

He said: “Today is our last Security Council meeting in the year and there have been positive reviews we have achieved based on the results from the measures we put in place to contain security challenges we inherited. There are lots of new security strategies we are embarking on next year.

“As the Chief Security Officer of the State, I can confirm that activities of Security Council has made Lagos safer than it was when we took over. We will continue to make the State secure for all law-abiding residents and visitors.”

Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, corroborated the Governor’s submission as he reviewed security operations in the outgoing year. He said security operatives had weakened the capacity of kidnappers in the State, adding that the Council remained vigilant to consolidate on the progress achieved.

He said: “The kidnapping issue has gone down drastically; those coming to Lagos for businesses should know that they are safe. But, we remain vigilant. We believe it is still the collective effort of everyone to ensure kidnapping becomes a thing of the past in Lagos.”

Odumosu also disclosed that implementation of the State Government’s amnesty offered repentant secret cultists would start in the New Year, noting that the amnesty would be complemented with an integration programme for the pardoned cultists.

Besides, Odumosu said the Council would be initiating new policy to curtail the activities of commercial motorcycles, known as Okada, on the highways. This plan, the Lagos Police Boss said, will be rolled out within the first four weeks in 2020.

“We are introducing a policy to contain the menace of Okada riders and tricycles, and this policy will be fully implemented. We will be unveiling the plan in a few weeks and it will be sustainable. The plan will not be without a human-face, but we expect all the commercial motorcycle operators to comply with the policy,” Odumosu said.

There will be more punitive actions to be taken against those engaging in one-way driving, the Commissioner of Police warned, adding that driving against the traffic is now being considered as a major security issue in Lagos.

The Police Commissioner said: “While we roll out more security plans to keep everyone safe, we urge members of the public to be security conscious. We have reviewed the progress and setbacks we recorded in the outgoing year, but we will be deploying more strategies next year to ensure improved performance in our security operations across the State.”