14th April, 2020
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday said over 100 suspected criminals causing unrest in the state due to Coronavirus lockdown, have been arrested in the last 72 hours.
He spoke in Marina, while giving update on Coronavirus in the State, saying that the government would not condone such reckless act of hoodlums harassing the neighbourhoods.
The governor, who said he just came out of security meeting with security chiefs, said the meeting discussed the increasing reports of crime and criminality across the metropolis as cultists, miscreants and other criminals sought to take advantage of the lockdown to unleash havoc on people.
“One of our key responsibilities as an administration is the safety and security of the lives and properties of all citizens, and we will not abandon this responsibility at any time. There is no room whatsoever in Lagos State for criminal gangs or miscreants of any kind.
“In fact, over 100 suspects have been arrested in the last 72 hours on account of disturbances. All the suspects have accordingly been charged to court.
“Let me assure you that those miscreants that you may have seen in the videos going viral are not hungry people; they are not acting on the basis of hunger. They are opportunistic criminals, and they will be treated as such by the law enforcement agencies,” he said.
According to Sanwo-Olu, “We have been in close and constant communication with the Federal Government on this issue, and the IG of Police has deployed a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who is a seasoned crime fighter, to Lagos as our Intervention Squad Coordinator to help devise and superintend over a superior strategy to curtail and stem the perceived and actual threat of violence.”
He said with this revised strategy, Lagosians would see an increase in mobile police deployment in all trouble spots in the metropolis; as well as the police intensifying their patrols around residential areas, boundary communities, and other critical areas of activities during this lockdown period.
“This will also be carried out in conjunction with other security agencies – Army; Navy; Airforce and Directorate of State Security Service,” he said.