The Lagos State Police Command has intensified deployments to schools, places of worship, and other public locations to curb criminal activities, Commissioner of Police Olohundare Jimoh announced on Monday.
Briefing journalists at the command headquarters in Ikeja, Jimoh assured residents that the state remains safe, adding that the heightened security measures would persist throughout the ember months and into the New Year.
“We want the general public to know that Lagos is safe and secure. We have made additional deployments to all schools, places of worship, religious centres and other locations frequently visited by people to ensure all worshippers are safe. This will continue into the New Year and beyond to ensure the safety of all Lagosians and other Nigerians coming into the state. We don’t have any concern to be worried about; we are beefing up security throughout the state,” he said.
The CP also highlighted ongoing efforts to expand the police tactical squad across the state’s local councils, a measure in response to increasing security breaches in parts of the country, including recent abductions in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger states.
Addressing the spike in stolen vehicles within Lagos, Jimoh identified newly employed drivers and car wash attendants as key perpetrators. During the briefing, he paraded 10 recovered exotic cars and confirmed that 56 suspects had been arrested for various offenses across the state.
“I want to emphasise that the onslaughts on the men of the underworld have been yielding results. And that is why behind me there are 10 exotic cars that I’m parading before you today. These vehicles are mostly those that were taken by the drivers who were in charge of such vehicles. Because the complaints we have about stolen vehicles in Lagos were that drivers who were just employed took the vehicles away. And we equally have instances where vehicles that were taken to a car wash were being driven away by the attendants,” he explained.
Jimoh advised residents to adopt stricter personal security measures, particularly regarding their vehicles.
“So, we should be more security conscious by ensuring that when we take our vehicle to a car wash, we don’t leave the key of the car with the car wash attendant. We should ensure this security measure so that we don’t get our vehicle stolen,” he added.
Among the recovered vehicles were a white Toyota Hilux, a white Range Rover SUV, a black Land Cruiser, a silver Lexus GX460 SUV, a silver Honda CR-V, a grey Toyota Corolla SM3, and another Toyota Corolla with registration number JJJ 887. A Boxer Bajaj motorcycle used during a robbery attempt was also seized. Weapons recovered included four locally made pistols, a cut-to-size single-barrel shotgun, a locally fabricated firearm, cartridges, and a machete.
“Each of these vehicles has two or three suspects attached to it. For these successes altogether, we have arrested 56 suspects,” Jimoh noted, assuring that intensified operations would continue to safeguard Lagosians.
The alert follows a recent case reported by Lagos-based developer Olakanmi Ogundele, whose newly hired driver allegedly absconded with his Gelly Saloon vehicle just four days after starting work.
