Leadnaija
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, told Saturday Tribune, when contacted, that there is no cause for alarm.
He said, “If what has brought this about is what the Governor of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde, said, I don’t think he has been accurately quoted. He never said the target is Lagos, no he never said so. I think what we all heard was that Boko Haram and ISWAP had infiltrated the South West. So, I would not want to speak for the South West, but I would want to speak for Lagos because there is very strong security machinery which is alive 24/7. It is very strong. We have very strong relationship with the military and other security agencies.Tap Here for the Full Story
“There is what we call Lagos State Security Council that meets periodically; meets whenever the governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, wants it to meet. The council comprises the military, the Army, Navy, Air Force, the police, the Neighborhood Watch, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, the Executive Secretary reporting, the governor, the deputy governor, Dr Kadir Obafemi Hamzat, the SSG and, to the best of my knowledge, we haven’t had any alarm from this eminent council about what you have said (likely bandit invasion).
“But like I have said, Lagos is reputed to be the safest city not just in Nigeria but the safest of any one in the world of its size where you have about 30 million people and yet we are not reporting murder every day, we are not reporting arson every day, we are not reporting any violent crime every day. So, if there is competition, Lagos is going to win it.
“So, we are not relenting on our efforts. That is why a few weeks ago, I think December last year, Mr Governor gave out in one day, 260 vehicles to security agencies, not just the police, not just the RRS. That is why in Lagos, you see that security agencies are more mobile, more energized because of all the equipment that the state government has been able to procure for them; bulletproof vests, helmets, and so many other things.
“The government has given them all these just about a month ago. So, it is not because of an alarm raised somewhere or anywhere that Lagos would begin to panic, no. This is because we have a vibrant, solid and effective security machinery that is working, 24/7.
Lagos, as you know, has about 2,000 Neighbourhood Watch people who are there to give intelligence to security agencies and they are in every nook and cranny of the state. So, I feel that Lagos is ever-ready; it is like we have imbibed the Boys Scout motto ‘Be Prepared’.
“Every Lagosian should feel free to go about his or her business without any fear of any attack or whatsoever. The state government will continue to do its best to protect Lagosians and visitors because we appreciate what the Federal Government is doing in terms of the group you have mentioned.
“The Federal Government, through the military, has been dealing with them and if the logic is because they had been pushed out of the places where they were in the North and they were moving South-West, it is logical to so take. But in Lagos, we do not try to see any problem coming before we move.
“So, 24/7, Lagos is prepared to ensure that citizens are safe, that visitors are safe, to ensure that businesses are protected, to ensure that Lagosians do not have any reason to fear at all, and that’s the situation.
“In December, we had what we called Detty December, we had yuletide, we had thousands of people if not millions of people moving into Lagos and yet not a single incident was reported of any violent crime in any part of Lagos. It shows and tells a lot about the preparations of Lagos. We had the boat regatta, the first of its kind in so long a time and there was no incident.
“We had street parties all over the place, we had very big shows, we had the Count-Down show during which many musicians who were abroad came home to play and you know people in Diaspora returned to Lagos to have Christmas parties so much so that Lagos is now being seen as the best place to celebrate yuletide any time.
“If you look at that, everybody is hailing the security architecture of Lagos. Everybody is hailing the security situation in Lagos. So, Lagosians are not in any panic at all, everybody is at rest and the government is assuring everybody that they should be at rest.”
