Daily Independent (Lagos)
Stella Odueme
15 October 2008
Precisely on Monday, October 13, 2008, the Lagos State Government boosted the state Police Command's fight against crimes with the donation of 10 long cabin Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).
Besides the armoured carriers, 1,000 AK47 rifles, 1,000 bulletproof vests and two million rounds of 0.76mm ammunition were also presented to the state police command.
While presenting the gifts to the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mike Okiro, Lagos Governor, Babatunde Fashola, reiterated that the donation in addition to mass installation of streetlights in strategic places in the metropolis was one of the strategies of his administration to fight crimes.
And like a wounded lion bent on combating crimes head-on with a bull-like tenacity, the governor also ordered the arrest of any commercial motorcycle operator found carrying more than one passenger. Some of the okada operators have been fingered and in fact caught using their motorcycles for robberies in parts of the state.
Just like the IG recalled, this was not the first time the state government was lending a helping hand to the state police, recalling that some time ago, the government also donated 300 patrol vehicles and 1,000 bullet-proof vests to revitalise the anti-crime security unit known as the Rapid Response Squad. But on that particular day, as the government and police authorities were plotting the fall of armed bandits in Lagos, somewhere in the metropolis witnessed an orgy of bloodshed, as the men of the underworld struck, snuffing lives out of the innocent citizens.
The victims, who were three policemen attached to the Lion Building in Lagos Island, were said to be responding to a tip off about the robbers who were aboard a stolen bus said to have been snatched at Ogba part of the state while the third person, a civilian, was killed when a gang of robbers stormed a commercial bank in Ogudu. The unfortunate security personnel was said to have rushed into the banking hall to inform the bank manager of the presence of the robbers when he was shot.
This was barely a week when a similar incident occurred at Okorodu part of the state where a bank manager met her untimely death when a gang of robbers stormed her bank. As usual, the robbers escaped after operating for hours. Her son, husband and other family members, colleagues and friends are still mourning her death till today.
Same sad story applied to a 12-year-old pupil of Polad Nursery /Primary Schools at Solomon Street, off Demurin, Ketu, who was hit by a stray bullet. He died on the way to the hospital.
The stray bullet was from the same gang of armed robbers that went to rob the bank located opposite her auntie's shop at Abiola Bus Stop, Demurin, Ketu, Lagos. Whatever dream she must have nurtured as a child died with her that day.
"There was a big wound at her right side and I think the bullet hit her there and went into her inner part. Since the incident happened, I have not been myself. Gladys was such a nice girl though older than every child in the school. She was a very quiet girl and when I held her dead body, it was a terrible incident which I have not recovered from," said her school proprietress, Mrs. Olayinka David.
Aside the bank robberies, there are also bus and okada robberies, among others, raising questions on how efficient are those whose responsibility it is to protect lives and property.
And so in the face of this glaring robbery terrorism, many are apprehensive of the possibility of these good gestures by the Lagos State government making positive impact on crimes fighting in the state and to what extent these donations will be properly applied.
"It is quite disheartening and indeed very sad that the day the state police command was boosted and enhanced in its crime fighting quest, robbers stuck and even overpowered and felled three officers. It further indicates the need for the police force to be more proactive in their duties and for proper funding and equipment of officers," stated Mr. Jude Owonikoro, who is the chairman of a non-governmental organisation, People Safety Forum (PSF).
"The Lagos Police Command must capitalise on the gesture and rise to its responsibility of crime fighting because more fearful is the threat of stray bullets, which have led to so many deaths, young and old alike," said Mr. Fred Omo.
"As it is now, I pray each time I am in the office because it seems the focus is more in the banks," said Mary Akpan, who works in a commercial bank in Ikeja.
Already, Fashola has said the government would also assist Marine and Air Police units with equipment. "Soon, we shall be providing helicopter for the Air Wing of the police to complement our contributions on the sea and the land activities," he declared.
He added that the government had brought in the private sector to provide three combat boats and two utility vehicles to strengthen the operations of the marine police.
Fortunately, the banks have been receptive to the State Security Fund, which was launched by the state government, while a joint patrol team with the Ojo Military Cantonment located along the Lagos-Badagry international highway as the main logistic base has equally been approved by the state government.
The state in the past few months has witnessed bank robberies and unresolved high profile killings. According to Okiro, with this gesture, the Lagos State Government has proved that the protection of the citizens through the enforcement of laws and prevention of crimes cannot be left to the police alone.
"The Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force has officially sent a strong warning signal to criminals and other miscreants in the state to pack their luggage and relocate out of Lagos State or change their behaviour and become better citizens. Any attempt to ignore this sincere advice will be met with dire consequences," he stated.
Whether this threat represents the usual bravado by the police or a final warning to the men of the underworld, only time will tell.
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