Could you give us insight into what you’ve been doing since you assumed duty at the Lagos Command?
It’s been about six weeks now. We’ve focused on traffic management. That’s one of the greatest challenges Lagos State Command is facing. We’ve placed more of our personnel, especially during peak periods, on the roads for traffic management.
This is in collaboration with other government agencies, like Lagos State Transport Management Authority. I’ve also done a lot of engagement with members of the public, interacting with them. This is one of the ways we can promote community policing, getting to hear from them, their concerns and we can jointly address those concerns together. We’ve also started working on how to increase police visibility by getting patrol vehicles on the road.
Another major problem that I encountered, maybe it has been happening, is issue of robbing motorists in traffic. It’s a gradual process, but we’ve tried to see how we can reduce it. I believe that within a short time, we would be able to eradicate that completely.
We’ve been putting more policemen on the roads, in order to give confidence to the motorists. The areas which robbery in traffic jam are endemic are Oshodi, Ojota and Mile 2. We’ve been putting policemen there, including putting on the roads motorcycles given to us by the state government. We’ve deployed these motorbikes to these areas to check this menace of robbing people on the highway. I’ve also started reorienting our personnel, to ensure that all they do are within the ambit of the police regulations and laws of the country.
Checking those ones that have corrupt tendencies; I’ve been going round personally and have also deployed X-Squad teams.
Even as we do this, we tell them that the present police management is taking their welfare into consideration. That’s why a lot of measures had been put in place, to see that the issue is addressed. So that, if we put policemen on the road, we see that basic comforts are given to them in terms of making provisions for ration including bottled water for them to carry along. That’s what the Inspector General of Police has introduced. And this is what we are replicating here, to ensure our policemen don’t resort to self-help in fuelling their patrol vehicles.
IGP has been making the provisions and we’re making sure it gets done. We’ve also tried to strengthen our internal oversight control on personnel that ran afoul of the police regulations.
You know the old Public Complaint Bureau of the police has been strengthened by putting a senior officer, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), found to be credible, who also has the legal background as a lawyer, to be addressing complaints from members of the public. That’s to ensure that personnel that are found wanting, are dealt with.
Combined to that is also putting into place, the structure for alternate dispute resolution, which the present management of the force is adopting, to reduce cases that are otherwise not criminal. These are cases that although not criminal, may lead to breach of the peace. Examples are land cases.
It’s not all of such cases that are criminal. But we don’t want to be turning people away, but we can bring people together under the alternate dispute resolution, we can talk to them and ensure that all such things don’t lead to break down of law and order.
Directorate of Security Services said that Boko Haram was in Lagos. What measures are you putting in place to ensure safety of Lagos people?
DSS has said it, but the police have not said there’s Boko Haram! DSS probably had their reasons for saying there’s Boko Haram. As far as the police are concerned, we want to tell people in Lagos not to panic over this. There are ways information managed! I’ve been going round the whole of Lagos, speaking to members of the public. We’ve spoken to residents as group, and market women, giving them hints for their personal security, what to watch out for. I don’t think Lagos is under the threat of Boko Haram. I wouldn’t know where DSS got their facts from.
Perhaps they got that from intelligence gathering?
Immediately I came on board during the Ramanda fasting and after it, the police had been giving advisories to people, to alert security agencies. We’ve also told Lagosians how we’ve deployed operatives on covert operations to motor parks, in partnership with members of the National Road Transport Workers and Road Transports Workers Employees Association of Nigeria, to check unusual movements in motor parks. This advice had been on. It’s not just about Boko Haram! Once people are conscious of crime and criminality…
Are you saying that even though you believe there are no facts to show that Boko Haram was in Lagos, you’ve already taken preventive measures?
Sure! We’ve been doing that! We keep talking to people. Recently I went to FESTAC and spoke with home owners. We distributed pamphlets to them, which contained hints on personal security. We told them our areas of concern. We talked to them about the menaces of Okada riders and street hawkers.
These are the sets of people that criminal elements can infiltrate. We’re working on getting street hawkers off the road and ensuring that areas where commercial motorcycles were restricted are maintained. It’s not about saying, ‘they’re the police.’ But the fact now is that we all are the police! It’s not just saying, Oh, Boko Haram. Once everybody takes issue of security serious, asking who my neighbour is; what time does he come home, what does he do?
These are part of what we should be telling people. Not to raise alarm. I would actually say that, yes, I don’t know the facts DSS have, but I’m assuring residents in Lagos, that Lagos is safe and that the security agencies, with the assistance of all of the forces, especially the military and member of the public will continue to make sure we do what we need to do. To keep Lagos safe.
So you’re synergising very well?
Yes. Effectively!
You’re grounded in human rights. What are you going to do about human rights abuses in cells of the Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS), especially torture?
I’ve not recorded human right abuse or got any case of torture. As I said earlier, we’ve strengthened the internal oversight mechanism in Lagos State. We’re doing that with speaking to our policemen, about Code of Conduct of the police, attribute of the police, the implications of abusing their powers, and there are those who had been found wanting. We’ve also used the internal mechanism to handle their matters, including organising a kind of orientation programmes, at the training school. This is because we believe that it’s not just about punitive measures, or reducing the rank of policemen who had infracted civilians’ rights.
But making them to know what is good. We’ve worked with the police training school, to design a one-week orientation programme, where such policemen, after we had handled the matter through the normal disciplinary manner, are taken to the school to be taught some basic human issues. They’ll be taught about community policing, police public relation, ethical and unethical behaviours, so that when they come out, they would be a changed person. I’m even working on psychologists to talk to them! This is because we are all human beings and every human being has some elements of madness which can strike at any time! Of course, the society is already heated up. Every one of us is charged because of pressures of socio-economic and domestic problems.
On two or three occasions, bank bandits came from creeks and struck. There are fears they may strike again. What are you doing about this?
Crime can’t be completely eradicated. Lagos with its size of 21 million people, with the number of policemen and logistics challenges we have and with migration into Lagos, makes it an attractive place and hot. It’s only a place where we don’t have human existence that you would say we wouldn’t have crime. So, it’s nothing that’s unusual, but we’ve been doing to prevent such from happening again is engaging people. I had met with private jetty owners and boat operators.
They see these people when they move. We’ve also being engaging our personnel that are posted on all these security duties to increase their security consciousness. I’ve engaged banks on awakening their security consciousness. We’ve engaged our Special Anti-Robbery Squads (SARS), as well. We told them that we needed to change strategies to address some of these menaces.
This morning, I met with Chief Security Officers of oil companies and multi-nationals of embassies. I had a discussion with them working together to ensure such a thing never happen again and if it happens at all, to have effective dispatch. We have started raiding identified criminal hide outs, including abandoned buildings and vehicles, where criminals keep the guns with which they operate. We’ll sustain that raid.
When these bandits come from the creek, they wear army camouflage uniforms. How will jetty owners or private boat operators know the uniform man is a bank robber?
That’s the essence of engaging the community. We know ourselves. Private jetty owners, boat owners and fishermen know those residing in their areas! They know people that dress like you in the daylight and changes at night. No! You’re talking about criminals in the community, but these bank robbers come from outside Lagos, through the creeks. Most of them that come from outside Lagos have basis within those communities. If you go along the waterways, there are different communities that have relationship with some of these militants that come into the state.
Fighting crime now, is not about the number of guns or ammunitions you have. One of the most potent tools that the police have now is information. Good credible information is stronger and more effective than carrying Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC). This is why we are engaging and partnering with members of the public. Even before the advent of policing, the community knows who was entering the community for the first time. The local vigilantes and neighbourhood watchers; they know some of these people. Some of these bandits that come from the creeks, before they go for operation, they go to beer joints along the creeks.
Some of them sleep over night there. And sometimes after operation, they carry women and spend their money there. Once we partner with members of the community and they give good information, we would be able to overcome.
But above all, prevention is better than cure. Our marine police are also upping their activities by doing patrols. Yes, we don’t have enough boats, but the few they have, are being used to sustain patrol along the water. Most of the fishermen do send me SMS now. With that, I think we’re on top of the situation.
It seems community policing has failed in the areas of arresting cult wars in Lagos.
I disagree with that! We have engaged members of the communities in some of these areas, including the chairmen of local governments. They’ve given credible information. Information they had been hiding before. In Bariga, Fadeyi and Mushin; last week alone at Idi-oro, 14 people were arrested with machetes. In Ikorodu, we arrested some with axes. Just yesterday, one of the notorious cultists, a kingpin, was arrested by the Area Commander, Ogudu. In the course of investigation, it was gathered that this particular person had been arrested before.
When he was first arrested, he was given administrative bail because of human right adherence. His file was sent to Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP). DPP advised that he be charged for murder. Since, police had not been able to lay hands on him.
Police had been looking for him since two years ago. He was picked yesterday! Another notorious one that had been operating in Fadeyi and Shomolu had also been arrested. It’s a gradual thing. We’ve sustained our raids on them. Residents in Oko-baba, in Ebute-Meta will tell how we’ve been sustaining raids over there. We’ve picked quite a lot and we’ve been sending them to court, looking at some of them that had previous murder cases.
Most residents tell us that they know that police arrest, but that these bad boys come back into the community. But we don’t have power over the judiciary. The judiciary will send to jail or whatever, but the bad guys come back to the community.
We’re however working around that. There are some of them that have previous cases of unresolved murders. We’re talking about capital offence here. This is why we’re now doing a profiling of them. I’ve engaged landlords, community leaders in discussions and some of them are coming up with credible facts. They tell you where these cultists assemble. Some even send me anonymous SMS.
It’s not as if we’re media shy, I however believe that the activities of policing shouldn’t be done on the pages of newspaper. I want what we do to speak for us. I want people to go to those areas and speak to the people, they’ll attest. Some of them sent SMS, praying for me. Such feedbacks are what we want to hear. We need the media. Whether we like it or not, the information that gets to the media, may not get to us. I see the media as our eyes and ears.
When you get to the community, you give us information because really, how many police do we have that can police the whole of Lagos? How many places can we reach? I went to a community in Bariga because of these cult wars; you wouldn’t believe the place. If you go there, maybe you’ll pass out within one week. To get into the community, they had to put planks for me to get there and speak with the people.
Many of them said that was the first time a Commissioner of Police was coming into the community to speak with them. I’ve been doing a lot of outreach and I believe it’s paying off because I get real information. Someone sent me a text that somewhere along Costain, five guys used to hang around. The person said that he suspected the men were robbers. He gave us the time the five men were always there.
We worked on the information. He sent a reply that they hadn’t noticed them again. That information paid off. We’re doing same thing at Oshodi. This week, we’re planning a joint operation with the members of the NURTW, Oshodi.
They know the boys that attack and kill them. They know the boys that used to snatch bags. Once these boys snatch bags, they run into the motor parks. One of the measures is the raids carried out by the task force on Saturday and Sunday. Surprisingly, some people came to say that because police raided in Oshodi, they were not able to sell. How did a raid that was done around 2am affect their business? We’ll continue and sustain it. I believe that if the members of the community work with us, we’ll succeed. We can’t do it alone.
What are the police doing about the return of ‘one chance armed robbers’ in Lagos? Are you going to bring back road block to check it?
Road block is cancelled and remains cancelled! It could, however, be used or created when it becomes necessary like the IGP said, in tactical operations. You said that ‘one chance’ is returning, but I say no to that! It’s no more! I had the information the first week I assumed office and we immediately sent out operatives. At Apongbon CSM, plain clothe operatives were there very early in the morning after we discovered that these guys used to operate mostly around 5am- 6am.
They move about with buses like they are genuine commercial bus drivers. Our operatives noticed one of such buses. They pursued them and the men jumped into the lagoon. They abandoned a bag. When it was searched, five phones and other materials were inside. A few minutes later, some of the telephones started ringing. Our men picked and told the callers, who were the owners that their phones were with us. They came to my office to collect their items. They took pictures with me.
They were excited, wondering how it was possible to recover their items within 15 minutes. There was another incident at Oshodi Bridge, where someone was robbed. We went all out and got the suspects. We recovered guns that were cut down to sizes. We’ve been putting plain cloth operatives on the roads. These are strategies I shouldn’t make known.
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