Christopher Oji
The Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of ‘B’ Department, (Operations), Lagos State Police Command, Muhammed Ali, has read the riot acts to criminals, urging them to leave the state or risk the wrath of the police.
DCP Ali who visibly talked tough at the weekend, said the new government in the state needed to enjoy crime-free environment in order to be able to actualise its developmental mandate for Lagos and its dwellers.
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Ali, popularly regarded by pundits in Lagos security circle as “the silent hero of Lagos security architecture,” noted that the state police command had decided to carry out massive fresh onslaught against criminal elements in the state to sustain peace and tranquillity in order to engender development.
Ali who acts for the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Mr Muazu Zubairu at several instances, said there was no going back as the war against robbers, kidnappers, cultists, ritualists and fraudsters would be intensified and must be taken to the doors of the hoodlums.
Ali was also one of the brains behind the success of former Lagos CP, Imohimi Edgal, whose tenure recorded the lowest crime regime in the state’s history.
He said: “The only way to flush out the hoodlums is to be proactive and not reactive. I am the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, I have been a divisional police officer (DPO) in many places and Area Commander in Lagos, so I know the language criminals understand and I also know the terrain. I know their mode of operations. We need massive onslaught against these criminals. Their mind-set now is that since there is a new government in place, there would be lapses in security superstructure.
“I want to warn that there are no lapses, rather we are becoming more formidable and proactive. It is better you leave the state or you repent. I am also warning touts to conduct themselves in an orderly manner and not to cause a breakdown of law and order in the state.
“As the DCP in charge of operations, I have been leading my men to arrest notorious criminals in their hideouts and dens without even firing a shot in most cases. We know the in and out of the state and we have credible informants. This is to warn criminals that we are not joking. We act on information and intelligence. We will arrive at their criminal den and pick them like snails. We know the time to pick them so that no innocent life will be lost.
“I am advising parents to warn their children to be of good conduct and behaviour. You should not come to beg when your children are picked at bad spots at unholy hours between 1.am and 4.am. To be candid, what would a teenager or an adult be doing in criminal hideouts at such unholy hours? We won’t listen to parents who come to beg for their children. I know why I am appealing Lagosians now. It is going to be tough for criminal elements in the state. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Ali who commended the Lagos State government for providing logistics to the police through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, said the state remains number one in the country as the government is always interested in the security of residents by investing so much money on security.
“No state government has supported the police and other sister agencies like the Lagos State Government. The government has spent lots of money in procuring vehicles, gun boats and helicopters among others to ensure that Lagosians sleep with their two eyes closed.”
However, Ali said the police command still needs more logistics and manpower, adding that “like Oliver Twist, we have to ask for more. We want more and better logistics.”
He warned police officers against extra- judicial killings. “To avoid extra-judicial killings, I want police officers and men to be guided by Force Order, Section 237. All police officers should be guided by that section as it will tell a police officer whether it is justifiable to use fire arms at a moment or not.”
On the endless Apapa gridlock, he assured that there would be light at the end of the tunnel because the Federal government was doing something drastic about it.