Barely 48 hours after he was made the commissioner of
Police, Lagos State, Acting Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, took up the
gauntlet...
Like a wounded lion, he went on the trail of criminal elements both
in the force and in the society. First cut The first sign of his determination
emerged immediately a non-governmental organisation, Network on Police Reform
in Nigeria, NOPRIN, raised alarm over allegations of bribery and sexual
harassment levelled against the officer in-charge of Anti-Kidnapping unit of
the command and some of his men by relations of some of the suspects detained
inside their cell at Surulere area of the state. The relations alleged that
policemen in the unit demanded money for bail and some of them were sexually
molested by the policemen on duty as they were making frantic efforts to secure
bail for the suspects. Commissioner of Police, Lagos, Mr. Imohimi Edgal Without
blinking an eyelid or toeing the line of some of his predecessors, who would
have just swept such serious and scandalous issue under the carpet, the new
police boss swung into action as he suspended the officer in-charge of the unit
and detained all the policemen alleged to have taken part in the scandal. He
further set up a panel comprising legal practitioners, human rights activists,
policemen and journalists to investigate the allegations and report back to him
within one week. Town hall parley Not done yet, Edgal immediately embarked on
town hall meetings with all segments of the Lagos society where he was able to
listen to them and proffer solutions that will help in not only nipping crime
in the bud but, proactively, seeing that criminals are chased out from their
den. This was after he rolled out operational guidelines aimed at securing the
state with a firm promise to partner with relevant groups and tackle the menace
of criminals in the state. He stated, unequivocally, that his operational
roadmap would be based on a police plan driven largely by community policing and
partnership. Edgal said he would do that under the condition that such groups
are registered and members are properly profiled adding that, they had no right
to carry arms since they were not trained and authorized by law to do so. He
said: “The issue of functional partnership will be taken very serious as legal
and operational guidelines for vigilante to be established must be put in
place. The Vigilante is important but before any group can metamorphose, such
group must report to the divisional police headquarters in that place where
they will be registered, profiled and scrutinized. “None of the members of any
vigilante group would, however, be accepted for registration if he is found to
have a criminal case or found to be a drunk or have any form of deviant
behaviour. They will be documented and submitted to the Area Commander for
final scrutiny. If the Area Commander confirms and I approve, then, they will
be able to work closely with the police. None of them will be allowed to carry
arms as they are not legalized to do so. They will be used primarily for
intelligence networking and we will improve intelligence gathering. Henceforth,
any intelligence in formation that leads to arrest will be rewarded and
identity of the informant will be protected.” Reads riot act to Area Commander,
DPO’s To buttress his avowed resolve to cleanse what looks like the Augean
stables, the police boss, unequivocally, stated that heads of department, area
commanders and divisional police officers would, henceforth, be held accountable
for the misconduct of their officers and men. There is no doubt that this
heart-warming stance will ginger officers in positions of responsibility to
provide quality leadership and closely monitor their staff. Lagosians are
convinced that the seeming premium being placed by the CP on whipping erring
police personnel into line and restoring professionalism among officers and men
in the state shows that he recognises the need to quickly get down to brass
tacks. War against cultism As the Deputy Commissioner of police in-charge of
operations in the state before his elevation as Acting Commissioner, Edgal
easily recognized that the issue of cultism which has been ravaging the state
deserved special attention hence, he hammered on this while meeting with
various opinion leaders during the town hall meetings. He identified cultism as
one of the major security challenges bedevilling the state, at the moment,
stating that, he was determined to put an end to cult related clashes within
the state. He warned parents to caution their wards who were members of various
cult groups to stay out of violence as he was prepared to deal ruthlessly with
any person found to be a cultist in the state. He disclosed that cultists would
now be treated as armed robbers whenever they are arrested by the police,
stating that he has ordered policemen to shoot at any cultist in possession of
a fire arm. He also explained that he discovered during interactions with
stakeholders during the ongoing security Town Hall Meetings across the state
that most areas usually don’t experience violent crimes such as armed robberies
and kidnappings, but they suffer from cult- related activities, which he said
had claimed several lives. He disclosed further that the era where cultists are
treated with kid gloves when arrested is over, adding that he would deal with
anyone caught with fire arms or any other dangerous weapon. Task parents
According to him; “cultism is a very serious issue which we must tackle in
Lagos State and everyone must be involved. I am fully out to tackle it head-on
and I urge parents to warn their children to stay out of cultism because I am
coming for them. The era where cultists apprehended with fire arms are treated
with kid gloves is over. I have ordered my men to shoot at any cultist who is
seen with a fire arm. This is not a joke; parents must take this message home
to their children and warn them to desist from all cult- related activities
henceforth. I have also strengthened the Anti-Cultism Department of the Lagos State
Police Command and I have directed them to move all out to track all cultists
operating within the state.” Ikorodu as a metaphor Beaming his searchlight at
Ikorodu where, recently, a deadly cult group and ritual gang named Badoo was
terrorizing and killing people with ease, the police boss who, incidentally,
was instrumental to the routing and putting final nail on the criminal group,
re-assured residents of the area that the ugly past was gone forever. He
disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has promised to
set up two more Area Command Headquarters and this will put an end to
insecurity in the area. He further told the audience made up of all the
traditional rulers in Ikorodu and its adjoining communities, Chiefs, Baales,
politicians, residents and security stakeholders within the community, that he
was prepared to return Ikorodu to its old days, where residents would sleep
with their eyes closed. Community policing to the rescue Edgal also disclosed
that he has ordered all Divisional Police Officers and Area Commanders within
the Lagos Command to implement Community Policing within their jurisdiction and
ensure that the people gain the trust and confidence of the police within area.
He stated further that, a Police Lab located in Alausa Ikeja, equipped with
sophisticated communication gadgets, has been set-up for intelligence gathering
and appealed to residents of Ikorodu, to take advantage of the platform, which
he said operates 24-hours daily, with 10 different phone lines. He therefore
enjoined the residents of the state to relate with the police on that platform
assuring them that the police would not betray that trust as the police act
swiftly on information gathered from members of the public. Furthermore, he
declared his readiness to work with other security agencies to ensure security
of lives and property in the state. So far, the new CP’s determination to
tackle criminality in the state has sent dangerous signals to criminals and
corrupt policemen and the sing-song now is that there is fire on the mountain.
Most revealing is the fact that the divisional police officers, especially in
remote areas of the state, seem to be getting the attention of the workaholic
new police boss based on his unannounced patrol of police stations, especially
at nights, with a view to ascertaining the preparedness of his men to toe his
line.
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