Lagos lawmakers
yesterday raised concern at the plenary over continued robbery incidents in the
state, lamenting the inability of the police to bring an end to this
menace. The House, however, called on
the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola to direct the Commander of the Rapid
Response Squad (RRS) to call on his men to swing into action by ensuring that
this menace is curbed.
Member
representing Lagos Mainland II, Moshood Oshun, under Matter of Urgent Public
Importance, had told his colleagues of a robbery incident that took place in
Iwaya area around 3: am on Monday morning.
According to
Oshun, "I received a call around 3 am from Iwaya about a robbery incident
and immediately I called the DPO of Sabo Police Station and he directed his men
to go to the place. "When they got there, they still met the robbers
operating and that the police engaged them in a gun duel and in the process,
two policemen were injured and all the armed robbers escaped with some cars and
other valuables.
"But when I
got to the police station this morning, the DPO told me that they could not do
anything because the robbers operated with sophisticated weapons and they were
unable to confront them.
"I agree that
the state has gone even beyond the Federal Government in terms of equipping our
security, but I still believe that a lot still need to be done in terms of
fighting crime in this country," Oshun submitted. Member representing
Apapa Constituency I, Mufutau Egberongbe noted that the activities of the Lagos
State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) are beginning to drop in its performance
unlike inception.
Egberongbe,
however, suggested that the House should look into the activities of LSSTF with
a view of making it more effective.
On his part,
Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu Constituency I) suggested that the RRS should be
centralised in such a way that they will be stationed in all the local
government areas within the state. Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji in his submission
pointed out that the Lagos State Government has made provision for Armoured
Personnel Carriers (APCs) to confront and fight crimes. He said: "As far
as I know, armed robbers have not started operating with APCs, so I don't see
any reason why the police will be complaining of lack of equipment despite the
huge amount our government has expended on security.
"May be the
Governor should call a security meeting to know why the police are still
complaining about not having sophisticated equipment. We will invite the
Commander of the RRS to the House to know about their activities."
Ikuforiji declared.
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