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EXCLUSIVE: Police confirm cultism, thuggery, stealing topped crimes in 2020
By Abolaji Adebayo
Cultism, thuggery and stealing were identified as the major crime Lagos recorded in the year 2020 among others.
Police sources confirmed that cultism, stealing and armed robbery were the most recorded crimes committed before the EndSARS crisis loomed.
Although stealing and armed robbery were on higher rate, thuggery and conducts by the cultists breaching the peace of the communities were more encouraged by the lockdown and the EndSARS crisis.
During the EndSARS crisis, communities as well as police officers had to keep sleepless night to remain proactive against the invasion of any group of cults and or thugs such as the One Million Boys and other cult gangs who were leveraging on the crisis to terrorise people.
It took the intervention of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) and other paramilitary groups such as Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in the state especially in Isolo and Ejigbo to rescue some police stations from being burnt by the hoodlums.
It took the synergy of the police and the other security agents to tame the menace.
During the EndSARS crisis, residents and communal security operatives in almost all the communities in Isolo were able to protect their communities and prevent any act of infiltration from the hoodlums although Ilasamaja police station was eventually affected.
The DPO of Aswani leveraged on her established community policing technique and the cordial relationship she has with the community.
She also devised an unusual approach to complement all efforts by preparing daily meals for those who engaged in the round-the-clock surveillance with the police
Other criminal activities aside stealing and armed robbery which were common in Oshodi-Isolo as gathered by LagosStreetJournal were breach of peace, cultism, fighting and drug abuse.
A police source at Ejigbo Police Divisional Headquarters revealed that rape, assault, affray, conducts likely to cause breach of the peace as well as driving against one way were common in the community as reported in the station in 2020.
The source said the police got to know from the residents the higher rate of rape cases when they investigated the case of an 11-year old, Favour Okechukwu who was reported raped to death in Ejigbo.
The source maintained that many of the cases were not reported to the police.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Makinde Police Station, Mafoluku Oshodi, CSP Chinedu Chimereze noted that some of the criminal acts such as cultism, murder and and kidnapping which had earlier been reduced in Oshodi, were further encouraged by the looming EndSARS crisis as the police relaxed after the crisis.
The Police Prosecutor, Isolo Magistrate Court, Inspector Oje Uagbale, said he could not give the data of the crimes, noting that majority of the criminal cases were not reported to the courts as the courts were not allowed to operate during the lockdown.
The former DPO, Ejigbo Police Station, CSP Olabisi Okuwobi said the criminal activities increased especially the hoodlums trying to destroy the police establishments and many communities during the EndSARS crisis.
She said the police were able to be above the crisis in Ejigbo working with vigilante and other security outfits.
She noted that a vigilante leader in Ejigbo, Mr. Gbenga Agunbiade aka Soloko, who worked closely with the police to repel the hoodlums was eventually killed during the EndSARS crisis.
Meanwhile, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, said although Ikorodu was the worst area where criminal activities were on the increase between July 2020 and January 2021, other areas of Lagos State such as Oshodi-Isolo recorded a number of criminal activities.
He said: “In recent times, the security situation in Lagos State has been commendable except in some areas particularly Ikorodu axis where its situation has become worrisome due to a slight spike in cases of cultism, gangsterism, traffic robbery, ritual killings and the like.
“These challenges have attracted public attention within and outside the state as many perceive the Ikorodu situation as a state of anarchy. However, the command, some individuals and interest groups never perceived the situation as bad as being projected in the news.
“The command and other sister security agencies have been alive to their responsibilities of tackling these challenges headlong with the little logistics available within their reach.”The efforts of the police and other combatant security operatives, including locally-based security operatives, have paid off as many of these criminals or miscreants have been arrested, decimated and their criminal operations were thwarted in many cases.
“In this regard, the command, with its anti crime strategies and the help of the general public, has recorded an appreciable number of achievements between July, 2020 and January, 2021.
While analysing the crime rate in Lagos State, Odumosu revealed that the police arrested 539 armed robbers/cultists across the state between July 2020 and January 2021 out of which 320 have been charged to court.
He noted that the police recovered 57 arms and 196 ammunitions from the suspects.
He further explained that there were 210 cultism cases, 139 murder cases and 21 suicide/attempted suicide cases.
To tackle the criminal challenges, the police boss said the command would leverage on the community policing, stating that the Lagos State Government has mobilised 1,250 able bodied individuals, drawn from various Local Government Areas to be trained as Special Constables.
“They have been adequately trained at the Police College, Ikeja, between December, 2020 and January, 2021 and passed out. The special constables, on Monday, 25th January, 2021, were deployed to all the 110 Divisions across the state to complement the police in the discharge of their duties.
“The command, in its bid to tackle cultism, has set on motion machineries to fight cultism in all spheres in the state. Most of the cultists have been arrested while some of them lost their lives in series of fierce gun battles with the police and other security agencies.
“It is clear that some of these groups like Aiye, Eiye, Alora, One Million Boys, Awawa, Pirates and Vikings Confraternities raise their ugly heads when some members of the public celebrate them and their criminal antecedents which are highly detrimental to security of lives and properties,” he said.
Odumosu added: Presently, kidnapping has been a thing of the past in Lagos State as the command has not recorded such case in the last two years. Even, despite the disbandment of Anti Kidnapping Squad after the Endsars saga, the command has sustained the tempo of keeping kidnapping at bay in the state.
“As related to Armed Robbery, the command recorded some cases while many of the robbers, including traffic robbers, were arrested. We have devised means of engaging the hoodlums at all strata with a view to decimating them and their antics. Basically, the state has enjoyed a sigh of relief in this regard and we will improve on our measures to suppress the hoodlums in the state.
“It is pertinent to inform you that the command, since the start of the second wave of the pandemic, has so far arrested more than 580 violators of the protocols including fun seekers and owners of lounges, night clubs and bars, while some were arrested for violating the 12 midnight to 4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government on COVID-19.
“Their vehicles were impounded and charged to court accordingly. The violators were charged to court and fined with large amount of money plus compulsory Covid-19 tests to all of them.”
“These challenges have attracted public attention within and outside the state as many perceive the Ikorodu situation as a state of anarchy. However, the command, some individuals and interest groups never perceived the situation as bad as being projected in the news.
“The command and other sister security agencies have been alive to their responsibilities of tackling these challenges headlong with the little logistics available within their reach.”The efforts of the police and other combatant security operatives, including locally-based security operatives, have paid off as many of these criminals or miscreants have been arrested, decimated and their criminal operations were thwarted in many cases.
“In this regard, the command, with its anti crime strategies and the help of the general public, has recorded an appreciable number of achievements between July, 2020 and January, 2021.
While analysing the crime rate in Lagos State, Odumosu revealed that the police arrested 539 armed robbers/cultists across the state between July 2020 and January 2021 out of which 320 have been charged to court.
He noted that the police recovered 57 arms and 196 ammunitions from the suspects.
He further explained that there were 210 cultism cases, 139 murder cases and 21 suicide/attempted suicide cases.
To tackle the criminal challenges, the police boss said the command would leverage on the community policing, stating that the Lagos State Government has mobilised 1,250 able bodied individuals, drawn from various Local Government Areas to be trained as Special Constables.
“They have been adequately trained at the Police College, Ikeja, between December, 2020 and January, 2021 and passed out. The special constables, on Monday, 25th January, 2021, were deployed to all the 110 Divisions across the state to complement the police in the discharge of their duties.
“The command, in its bid to tackle cultism, has set on motion machineries to fight cultism in all spheres in the state. Most of the cultists have been arrested while some of them lost their lives in series of fierce gun battles with the police and other security agencies.
“It is clear that some of these groups like Aiye, Eiye, Alora, One Million Boys, Awawa, Pirates and Vikings Confraternities raise their ugly heads when some members of the public celebrate them and their criminal antecedents which are highly detrimental to security of lives and properties,” he said.
Odumosu added: Presently, kidnapping has been a thing of the past in Lagos State as the command has not recorded such case in the last two years. Even, despite the disbandment of Anti Kidnapping Squad after the Endsars saga, the command has sustained the tempo of keeping kidnapping at bay in the state.
“As related to Armed Robbery, the command recorded some cases while many of the robbers, including traffic robbers, were arrested. We have devised means of engaging the hoodlums at all strata with a view to decimating them and their antics. Basically, the state has enjoyed a sigh of relief in this regard and we will improve on our measures to suppress the hoodlums in the state.
“It is pertinent to inform you that the command, since the start of the second wave of the pandemic, has so far arrested more than 580 violators of the protocols including fun seekers and owners of lounges, night clubs and bars, while some were arrested for violating the 12 midnight to 4am curfew imposed by the Federal Government on COVID-19.
“Their vehicles were impounded and charged to court accordingly. The violators were charged to court and fined with large amount of money plus compulsory Covid-19 tests to all of them.”
