We’ve cut Lagos crime rate by 70 percent — Gov. Ambode

The Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday said his administration has reduced crime rate in the city by 70 percent since January this year.

Mr. Ambode spoke while receiving the acting Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, who was on a courtesy visit to the Lagos House, Ikeja.

The governor, however, noted “some ugly points” still emanating along the state’s waterways.

Governor Ambode specifically requested more police patrol of the waterways, assuring that his administration would play its own part by ensuring the welfare of officers in the line of duty is assured.

“We want to partner with you to keep our waterways safe, we need a greater presence of Marine Police across our waters and we also know that we can support them by providing gun boats. But again we want to say that we would take proper care of welfare of police officers who are assigned to Lagos,” Mr. Ambode told the police boss.

Several communities in Lagos had come under heavy onslaught from militants and vandals in recent weeks, prompting a joint military action involving the Nigeria Army, the Police and other security agencies.

The Lagos governor commended the police and other security agencies on the fight against the hoodlums which was tagged “Operation Awatse”.

“We need to sustain and ensure that these people do not go back to the creeks,” said Mr. Ambode.

“On our part as a government, whatever it is that it takes to take the militants and vandals off Lagos we are going to do it, if it means shutting down some locations where they seem to be hibernating in terms of any commercial trade, we would do it and make sure that we guarantee the lives of our people and whatever it takes in terms of financial support for the security agencies to sustain the success we’ve had in the last few days, we would do it.

Earlier, the IGP who said he was in Lagos to visit some police formations in the state commended the State Government’s support and cooperation to the Police and other security agencies in recent time, saying that the synergy between security agencies and the Lagos State Government was worth emulating.

He also commended the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), saying that it was a model that other states of the federation can take a cue from.

“When I was Commissioner of Police in Kano State, we had to travel to Lagos to understudy the Security Trust Fund. So it has served as a model for other states in the federation.” the IGP said.

He also promised that the police would continue to deploy the best of its officers in the country to the state.