Jimoh assumes duty as Lagos CP, reads riot act to criminals

By Christopher Oji

The newly appointed 41st Commissioner of Police for Lagos State Command, Moshood Jimoh, has read the riot act to criminals to relocate from the state or face the wrath of the police force.

The CP also warned officers and men of the command to sit up and make sure that human rights of individuals and groups are maintained in the state.

The CP, who took over from CP Ishola Olarenwaju, while addressing senior police officers, heads of department, area commanders, divisional police officers, tactical commanders, staff officers, members of the press and public, said it was pertinent to acknowledge that his predecessor and the senior officers have thoroughly briefed him on the crime situation and all other issues of concern in Lagos State.

He said, “Relying on the actionable intelligence and crime-mapping tools of the command, crimes of violence and other sundry crimes will be fought and dealt with head-on. The strategies, tactics, methods and techniques being implemented by the command to fight crimes such as traffic robbery, robbery, cultism in all ramifications, curbing of violent crimes around identified black spots and other notorious crime scenes will be reinvigorated and improved upon to achieve results and get the criminals off the streets of Lagos.

“The full weight of the law will be applied on anyone who will be criminals in the state. They are hereby strongly warned and advised to repent, abandon crime or leave Lagos State. The state will be too hot henceforth for the men of the underworld and it will be a no-go area for criminals and their cohorts. 

“In curbing the menace of cultism in some parts of the state, the command will sustain its onslaught on cultism. More than 50 suspected cultists arrested in the act have been arraigned in court and are under prosecution. We, therefore, call on parents and guardians to prevail on their children and wards to desist from cult-related activities or face the full wrath of the law, as the command will stop at nothing to rid the state of all acts of cultism.

“The command will continue to uphold an open-door policy, ensuring a people-friendly and community-oriented approach to policing for all Lagosians. We will foster unhindered communication, deliberation and collaboration between the police and the public. The people of the state will have unhindered opportunity to interact with the police freely at all levels to strengthen the trust, accountability and mutual respect on both sides 

“Let me assure Lagosians that, under my leadership, human rights abuses will not be tolerated, no matter how minor it may be. Our approach to policing will be firmly rooted in the dictates of international best practices in policing. While professionalism, respect for human rights and human dignity of every Lagosian will be religiously observed, every action taken by police personnel across the command will reflect our commitment to rule of law, justice, accountability and the protection of citizens’ rights at all times. All police personnel throughout the command are under strict instructions to be civil, polite but firm in carrying out their official duties, obligations and other responsibilities. The good people of the state are also implored to respect police officers at their duty posts and be law-abiding. 

“The Lagos State Police Command, as a lead internal security agency in the state, has crucial roles in combating crimes and criminal activities in the state and make the state safer for all the people of the state. To achieve these objectives, the command will work closely with the government of the state, prominent and eminent personalities, critical stakeholders, investors, public-spirited individuals, traditional rulers, religious leaders and all other stakeholders and groups that are committed to partnering with the police to ensure security and safety in the state. 

“The Lagos State Police, under my leadership, will prioritize effective synergy, partnership and cooperation with sister security and safety agencies and services in the state. This is to sustain, further improve and strengthen the already established cordial relationship between the police and the other security and safety agencies in the state. I, therefore, respectfully wish to assure these critical security stakeholders of the commitments of the command in this regard. It’s imperative to emphasize that, under my leadership, the command will foster more closer collaboration with key security agencies, complimenting the police to implement unified strategies to tackling crime in Lagos State. Our collective commitment and collaboration will definitely ensure a more secure and safer Centre of Excellence for all Lagosians.

“Though crimes and criminalities in the state are not alarming and are surmountable, the police under my leadership will redouble our efforts and work assiduously with the state government and good people of the state to further reduce the fear of crime, the commission of crimes and all forms of criminalities in the state to minimum level to enable the law-abiding people of the state and corporate entities both local and multinational to go about day-to-day businesses and their means of livelihood peacefully. The police under my command will work very hard to ensure protection of the huge investments of all investors, government Investments and local and foreign investments in the state. 

“New and varied crime prevention, control and management strategies will be adopted and implemented to nip in the bud all forms of crime, especially violence crimes, and promptly detect those crimes that may occur. The command will be more proactive in crime fighting and prevention to detect and act and deal according to the law, with early-warning signals of crimes and other threats that can snowball into disturbances of public peace and public safety or breakdown of law and order appropriately.

“The command is not unmindful of the concerns and complaints of members of the public about unsatisfactory conduct of a few police officers, which is not condoned at any time and which some personnel have been punished for in line with police disciplinary processes in the past. However, in case of acts of any rights violation, I urge Lagosians to promptly reach out to the Lagos State Police Command’s Complaint Response Unit (CRU) by calling 09111111150 or via  WhatsApp at 09111111151. Additionally, our official social media handles: @LagosPoliceNG (X), @policeng_lagos (instagram) and our website, www.lagos.npf.gov.ng, are always open for complaints for swift and effective responses. Your concerns will be treated with the utmost confidentiality, urgency and promptly redressed. You can also make a formal complaint at the nearest police station or report to me personally on 08032569029.”