Police in Ikorodu arrests 242 armed robbers, record 192 cultism cases in one year, says Lagos CP

The Lagos state commissioner of police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, on Wednesday, said the state Command had arrested 242 armed robbers, and recorded 192 cultism cases, out of which 172 had been filed in various courts, within a year, in Ikorodu division.

Odumosu, who disclosed this at a town hall meeting on security, held at the Ikorodu town hall, in Lagos, added that 28 arms and 120 ammunitions were also recovered from suspected criminals, while 17 vehicles were impounded and 18 criminal cases recorded in the division.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that community leaders, the representative of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Lagos Traffic Management Authority LASTMA, VGN and other security agencies attended the meeting.

“Stakeholders should support the command in unravelling the mysteries behind the security challenges confronting this ancient town. The achievements recorded so far was made possible through the deployment of various Anti-Crime strategies in the Division,” he said.

According to Odumosu, the police would ensure that the fight against insecurity continued recording huge success in the Division, as the command would not relent in deploying more Police personnel to Ikorodu, to combat the lingering insecurity and ensure the safety of lives and property in the area.

“Residents should be rest assured about the presence of the Police in Ikorodu, after this meeting, while all those who have been engaging in criminality should please relocate out of Ikorodu,” he said.

The CP used the occasion to warn against road-side trading and indiscriminate parking of vehicles at Ikorodu round-about, saying that market and union leaders should help tackle those found engaging in street trading within the area.

Similarly, Odumosu warned market men and women to also adhere laid down Covid-19 protocols in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Responding, the traditional ruler of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, warned land owners to desist from inviting land grabbers to foment trouble in various communities in the area, saying that henceforth those found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

His Royal Majesty, the Adegorushen of Igbogbo, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, commended the zeal of the CP on community policing, pointing out that cultism, pickpocketing, armed robbery and other social vices, had already reached their peak across the division.

In his remarks, the Chairman, Ikorodu Local Government, Mr Wasiu Adesina, who spoke on behalf of the chairmen of the six local government councils, in the Division, said they had resolved to work together, to curb the challenge of insecurity in Ikorodu.

Adesina said all the local governments were ready to synergise with the Police to curtail insecurity and acts of criminality in the Division, adding that his local government was already planning to purchase three operational vehicles, to enhance their security operations in the area.

Also, Segun Abiru, the Chairman, Ikorodu-Oga Development Association (IKODAS), called on the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to regularly raid all the drug selling joints within the Division.

He called for unity among the security agencies operating within the Division, urging the Police, in particular, to increase the number of its formations, due to the increasing population of residents within the Division.

Abiru also urged the government to endow a security fund to curb the menace of insecurity, while advising parents to strive to raise qualitative children.