By Augustine Ehikioya
Due to effective enforcement of the recent ban on Commercial Motorcycle (Okada) riders in Lagos State, the Commissioner of Police, CP Abiodun Sylvester Alabi, said traffic robbery has completely crashed in the State.
According to him, there is no single traffic robbery in the State in the past ten days.
He spoke exclusively with Security Watch Africa (SWA) crew on Friday in his office at Ikeja, Lagos State.
Stressing that the ban by the State Government is now being effectively enforced, the CP said “There is no single traffic robbery in Lagos State in the past 10 days. I have the statistics here.
“Most of these Okada riders are armed robbers,” he added.
Noting that this is not the first time Okada ban was pronounced in the State, he said what he is doing differently now is to ensure anybody arrested is not allowed to go in order to serve as scapegoat.
This, he said, has been paying off as other Okada riders are simply complying with the ban so as to stay out of trouble.
“So far so good, we have been able to make a mark. There is no reason why people should not obey laws,” he stated.
He also disclosed that his past five months as CP in the State has been challenging.
“It hasn’t been an easy road. But I’m happy the officers and men I’m working with are well educated and committed to their duties.”
He also took time to highlight some of the factors that have helped him in carrying out his assignment effectively in the State.
Towards surmounting the security challenges in the State, he said that the first thing he did as CP Lagos State was to study the trends and patterns of crimes in Lagos.
“And I was able to galvanize my Tactical Commanders and Area Commanders to draw strategies on how to prevent these crimes from taking place.
“The best way to prevent crime and deter criminals is to make Police Officers visible. If not all nooks and crannies, at least the strategic areas, to either deter criminals or respond swiftly to any distress call. That is one of my policing visions that I have put in place.
“So, for visibility policing, we have been able to restore confidence in us by the members of the public, build their trust and confidence and support for us.
According to him, part of his strategies was to galvanize the stakeholders in the various communities.
“That has also helped us too to have relative peace in Lagos State in the past five months.”
Speaking on other factors that has helped him in securing Lagos State since he became the Commissioner of Police, he said “The Government of Lagos State has been very supportive in terms of logistics.
“And beyond that too, the support of the Eminent Persons Forum, the PCRC, and the Neighborhood Safety Agency, they have been very wonderful in terms of information.
“No security agency can do it alone. All the other security agencies have also been very wonderfully supportive,” he said.
On revival of nightlife in the State, he said “And I can attest to the fact that there is nightlife in Lagos because we have embarked on visibility policing.”