- Â Edgar pledges to protect Lagos by all means
Gboyega Akinsanmi
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, tuesday said the Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LSNSC) was established in the true spirit of community policing. which he said the Nigeria Police just started promoting.
Likewise, the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Edgar Imohimi, pledged to protect the state by all means in order to ensure the security of lives and property across all local councils.
Ambode explained the rationales behind the establishment of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps at the State House, Ikeja yesterday when Edgar and his immediate predecessor, Mr. Fatai Owoseni paid him a courtesy visit.
At the session, Ambode noted that the state government specifically established the Neighborhood Safety Corps to ensure that every community and council in the state “is secure and properly policed.â€
The governor added that the establishment of the corps “is the fabric of the community policing the Nigeria Police is now projecting. We will support it with materials and resources. We will ensure that every community is properly policed.
“We will support community policing. You must have seen that in our action which was why we established the Neighborhood Safety Corps. We are very emphatic on law and order,†he explained.
He, therefore, emphasised the need “to ensure that the state’s judicial system works in convergence with the Nigeria Police so that we can keep the city safe and more prosperous.â€
He added that the state government “will support the present effort of the Nigerian Police to scale up community policing. We will give the new police commissioner all the support. In that, we will have the peace that everybody need to go about their activities without let or hindrance.â€
After the session, Imohimi said he was ready “to dine with the devil with a long spoon to ensure that Lagos residents live in peace and happiness. My passion for this assignment means that if I have to dine with the devil with a long spoon to ensure that Lagos residents live in peace and happiness, I will do so.â€
He stated that his policing plan for Lagos State was entirely aimed at making the state the safest city to live and do business in the continent of Africa, saying that “it is based on the philosophy of community policing and community safety partnership.
“I intend to partner with everybody to ensure that Lagos is secured. Lagos is a cosmopolitan city, the issue of security is dynamic and of course, policing must also be dynamic, tomorrow (Wednesday), I would be rolling out my policing plan to achieve this. I want to thank the state government for all the support they have been giving to the police.
“Without support both in terms of equipment, in terms of advocacy, there is no way the police would have been able to achieve what they have achieved within the short span of this administration of the incumbent governor. I appeal to his Excellency that that cooperation should continue.
He assured the state government that he would have no cause for complaint or concern, noting that the police command would serve the people of Lagos with all our heart and with all our might.
Imohimi, therefore, warned criminals and hoodlums that it would not be business as usual, noting that the police “will fish them out and prosecute them.
He, also, warned all police officers against human right abuses, corruption and indiscipline, noting that the full weight of the law and police regulations would be meted out on any police office found wanting during his watch.
