Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state, on Tuesday visited the scene of Lafenwa fire incident and ordered the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole to immediately redeploy the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Lafenwa Divisional Police Division for allegedly aiding and abetting criminals in Lafenwa market and its environ.
He also ordered the arrest of all miscreants involved in setting on fire the petrol Tanker.
Speaking with newsmen after the on-the-spot assessment of the scene of the fire incident which occurred on Sunday when a fuel laden truck fell, Abiodun said that there have been a lot of negative reports against the DPO, declaring him ineffective and inefficient in carrying out his statutory duties of managing the area.
“There are complains against the Divisional Police Officer(DPO) here, I want that DPO investigated. I also want him removed from this place, because this is not the first time that complains have been levelled against him.
“We got several complains how he has mismanaged this place, particularly as it pertains to miscreants that come and disturb the traders. He would arrest them, within five to ten minutes, he would release them and that is why this place has continued to be restive because the thuggery in this place has not been contained.
“I want the CP to declare an emergency here in Lafenwa; I want every miscreant arrested because this kind of situation is totally unacceptable where a tanker overturns, fuel that is highly inflammable is flowing through the drainage and someone willfully ignites it so that they can cause chaos and begin to loot the market, this is very bad, it is just not acceptable, it is criminal”, Abiodun stated.
He expressed disappointment that people would be so heartless by setting fire on the tanker when efforts by security and fire personels were on to salvage the situation, adding that the sole aim of the perpetrators was not only to loot, but to destroy things in the market.
While calling for full investigation, Abiodun urged the Police Commissioner to ensure that everybody involved in the “heinous crime” is arrested and brought to book, adding “we must make an example of them”.
The governor described the loss of lives in the fire incident as unfortunate, noting that both Federal and State Fire trucks were damaged by the hoodlums who prevented fire trucks and men of TRACE from sealing off the area and protecting the tanker from going up in flames.
He gave the Commissioner of Transportation and leadership TRACE three days to carry out an investigation into the immediate and remote cause of the accident.
Abiodun, while commiserating with the traders who lost valuables in the fire incident, also directed the Commissioner for Special Duties to take inventory of all goods lost, promising to provide palliatives for the victims.
In his response, The Babaloja of Lafenwa Market, Alhaji Musa Adeyinka, recounted the loss during the incident and thanked the governor for coming around to sympathize with the market people.