On Wednesday, the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, said the State Command had arrested 242 armed robbers and reported 192 cases of cultism, of which 172 were filed in different courts in the Ikorodu Division within a year.
Odumosu, who announced this at a security town hall meeting held at the Ikorodu Town Hall in Lagos, added that 28 arms and 120 ammunition had also been recovered from suspected criminals, while 17 vehicles had been impounded and 18 criminal cases had been reported in the division.
The Nigerian News Agency (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by community leaders, the Federal Road Safety Corps delegate, the Lagos Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), VGN and other security agencies.
“Stakeholders should support the command in unravelling the mysteries behind the security challenges confronting this ancient town. The achievements recorded so far was made possible through the deployment of various Anti-Crime strategies in the Division,” he said
The police will ensure that the battle against insecurity continued to report enormous progress in the Division, according to Odumosu, as the command would not relent to deploy more police personnel to Ikorodu, to tackle the persistent insecurity and to ensure the protection of lives and property in the area.
“Residents should be rest assured about the presence of the Police in Ikorodu, after this meeting, while all those who have been engaging in criminality should please relocate out of Ikorodu,” he said.
The CP used the opportunity to warn at the Ikorodu round-about against road-side trading and indiscriminate parking of vehicles, saying that business and union leaders should help tackle those found to be engaged in street trade within the region.
Similarly, Odumosu warned men and women on the market to also stick to the Covid-19 protocols to curb the spread of the virus.
In response, Ikorodu’s traditional ruler, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, cautioned land owners to refrain from inviting land grabbers to promote trouble in different communities in the region, saying that those found guilty would be made to face the full wrath of the law from now on.
The CP’s passion for community policing was commended by His Royal Majesty, the Adegorushen of Igbogbo, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, pointing out that cultism, pickpocketing, armed robbery and other social vices had already reached their height across the division.
In his remarks, Mr. Wasiu Adesina, Chairman of the Ikorodu Local Government, who spoke on behalf of the Chairmen of the Division’s six Local Government Councils, stated that they had agreed to work together to address the problem of insecurity in Ikorodu.
Adesina said that all local governments were prepared to synergize with the Division’s police to curb insecurity and criminal activities, adding that his local government was already preparing to buy three operational vehicles in order to boost its security operations in the region.
The Chairman of the Ikorodu-Oga Development Association (IKODAS), Segun Abiru, also called on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to periodically raid all of the Division’s drug dealing joints.
He called for unity among the security forces working within the Division, urging, in particular, the Police to increase the number of its constituencies, owing to the rising population of citizens within the Division.
Abiru also urged the government to establish a protection fund to curb the threat of insecurity, while encouraging parents to try to raise quality kids.
SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
