Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal has said that 290 robbers were arrested between November 2017 and September 2018 in the state.
Lagos CP Edgal
Speaking at the 2nd Annual Town Hall Meeting on security with Governor Akinwumi Ambode yesterday, he said that with the support of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), crimes generally in the state, especially car snatching, armed robbery, kidnapping, and other crimes have been drastically reduced.
According to Imohimi, from the period under review, 19 others died during encounters with the police. “Thirty-seven vehicles were recovered during the period. Two hundred and thirty-three armed robbery attempts were foiled.
A total of 911 cultists renounced cultism while 669 suspected cultists were arrested. Regrettably, two police officers were shot dead in the line of duty,” Edgal said.
He said despite the massive contributions of the LSSTF to the command, dearth of patrol vehicles remained a greater challenge.
“Many vehicles attached to the divisions have become rickety and unserviceable due to old age and over usage,” he said.
He also appealed to the state government and good Nigerians for the provision of communication gadgets and other equipment.
“As a remedy, the command urgently needs three Motorola MTR2000 repeaters, 100w heavy duty mood with the cooling system, three 9DB gain heavy duty Omnidirectional antenna for MTR2OOO repeater, 200 patrol vehicles, equipped with communication gadgets, five lorries (troop carriers) and five heavy-duty towing vehicles.
“Other logistics requirements include arms and ammunition, riot gunners, smoke pistols, hand grenades, tear gas canister, thunder blasts, bulletproof vests, ballistic helmets, and respirators, among others.”
Executive Secretary and CEO LSSTF, Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, said in 11 years, the fund has raised a combined sum of N22.8billion in cash and kind, which has translated to 1,174 vehicles, 45 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs), 579 motorbikes, 21 police patrol boats, 2,354 tyres, 800 batteries, 127 power generating sets of various capacities, 2,164 bulletproof vests, 5,196 rain gears (coats and boots), 1,750 sweaters, 1,000 riders‘ gear, N5.7billion in fuel costs (petro and diesel).
