LASG: Security Initiatives Have Helped Reduced Crime

Sunday Okobi

The Lagos State Government has stated that its security initiatives across the state have helped in reducing crime to the barest minimum, adding that more need to be done to tackle crimes committed by mostly foreigners who arrive in the state from different parts of West Africa.

This was disclosed yesterday by the Special Adviser to the state governor on Security and Intelligence, Mr. Kunle Ajanaku, at the eighth edition of Securex West Africa, Nigeria’s most established security and public safety event to serve the government and private sector in the Africa sub-region.

Ajanaku however stated that despite the strategic initiatives of the state government which have curbed crime to a larger extent, “the state remain vulnerable to violence intellectuals, terrorist sects, organised crime syndicates and illegal migrants who enter the state from all parts of West Africa on a daily basis.

“Apart from these criminal elements, there are also visitors who arrive in Lagos daily to seek greener pastures in public zones, some involve in drugs as well as the effect of climate change. Consequently, with all these, Lagos State will probably be the most populous city on the globe by 2030.

“Therefore, this security conference and exhibition is a right step in the right direction, particularly in terms of support of our government initiative and our security and responding agencies.”

The state government security aide, however, added that exhibitors and merchants of security wares must be mindful, even though they are in business, of who they sell their security wares to, “as we need to be careful of falling into wrong hands. We must avoid putting sensitive equipment into the hands of non-state actors whose aim is to breach peace and security. We need to ascertain the background of our customers, as some customers that emerged from professional body system might not be in line with the state government security initiative.”

The security expert stated further that the state security-based initiative compliments community policing which he explained is the best approach of the state government to combat crime, “for example, with the way the Neighbourhood Watch is structured, you cannot call it a state police, it is a community-based initiative to make the people have a sense of belonging.”