Delta government understudies Lagos security trust fund

Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun, at the weekend played host to the Delta State Security Trust Fund led by its Executive Secretary, Sam Osasa, who were on a familiarization/working visit to understudy the LSSTF in the effort to replicate the agency in Delta.

Balogun said the peaceful atmosphere and security of lives and property being enjoyed in Lagos can be attributed to the massive support to security agencies by the state government and the private sector through the LSSTF. He said the creation of the fund was necessitated by the increasing menace of crime in the state and the inability of security agencies, particularly the police to tackle these crimes.

He noted that the gross underfunding of the police and other security agencies made security operatives ill-equipped to effectively discharge their duties, hence the establishment of the Fund in 2007 by a law of the Lagos House of Assembly, with the objective of “providing money for the acquisition and deployment of security equipment and other resources as shall be found necessary for the effective functioning of all Federal, State, Local Government and other security agencies operating in the State, and also for the training and retraining of security personnel.”

The Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), ACP Olatunji Disu, who was present at the meeting, told the visiting delegates that the RRS is a unit created from the Lagos State Police Command, saddled with the responsibility of providing swift response to emergencies in the state. The commander added that the RRS has enjoyed immense support from the state government and private organizations through the fund, which has motivated them in the effective discharge of their duties.

Osasa and other delegates expressed their appreciation at the end of the working visit noting that the process of understudying the fund had been an eye opener to them. He also stated that he has acquired more knowledge and was better informed to advise the Delta State government moving forward.