• Says over 81,000 suspects arrested for minor, major offences
• Property worth N19.52b lost to fire incidents in 2024, govt states
• ‘4,847 accident victims rescued, treated in one year, 144 died’

Lagos State Government has said that Ogun and Oyo indigenes top the criminal suspects arrested across the state between January 2024 and May 2025, while the top three crime locations in Lagos include Ikeja, Lagos Island and Lekki.

The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro (SAN), disclosed this, yesterday, during the media briefing to mark the second year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

Pedro said that to increase efficiency in the criminal justice system in the state, the state government had leveraged technology and new initiatives in the Ministry of Justice notwithstanding the challenges presented by other agencies involved in the criminal justice system.

“We aim to integrate technology into crime prevention, investigation, and trial, including the creation of virtual rooms within the Ministry of Justice to protect witnesses and reduce costs,” he said.

The commissioner also revealed that over 81,000 suspects were arrested, arraigned and convicted for various minor and major offences between January 2024 and May 2025. He added that the system recorded 73,962 cases/inmates between 2018 and May 2025, just as over 10,000 suspects/cases were processed between January 2024 and May 2025.

According to the commissioner, 64 per cent of convictions reported between January 2024 and May 2025 were plea bargain convictions. ALSO, the state government has revealed that property worth N19.52 billion were lost to fire incidents across the state in 2024.

Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Olugbenga Oyerinde, disclosed this yesterday, during the media briefing. He said that 450 victims were rescued alive from fire incidents, while 91 victims were recovered dead.

The commissioner, who said that property estimated to be worth N117.12 billion were saved from being lost to fire incidents, emphasised the strategic milestones recorded in coordinating emergency response efforts and fostering robust partnerships across governmental tiers in the country.

Oyerinde hinted that the state government had in the last one year strengthened its security strategy through the integration of the Nigerian Forest Security Service into the state’s security architecture.

According to him, a total of 100 security personnel were recruited to fortify security management around border areas adjoining the state for the safety of the commuting public.