13th February, 2012
A combined team of the Rapid Response Squad, RRS and the Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Special (Enforcement) Unit stormed Lagos Island area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria last night and arrested 111 suspected miscreants terrorising the area following clashes between factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW.
In the last two weeks, miscreants belonging to factions of the NURTW have made Lagos Island ungovernable as they killed innocent people and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
In view of the turbulence in the area, the RRS and task force stormed the area around 10.00 pm on Sunday and raided the miscreants for hours.
P.M.NEWS gathered that the operatives of the RRS and the task force were fully armed and stormed Lagos Island in large number with Black Maria to arrest the suspects.
The joint operation was said to have been led by the RRS Commander, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, a Chief Superintendent of Police.
The suspects arrested were taken to the Task Force Headquarters at Alausa, Ikeja and remanded in detention and will be prosecuted later in the day.
When contacted, the Task force Chairman, Mr. Bayo Sulaiman, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed that 111 suspects were arrested last night.
Sulaiman said the police decided to tackle to the problems in the area in order to protect lives and property and ensure that people in the area live in peace and harmony.
He lamented that in the last few days, miscreants had held Lagos Island hostage and disturbed the peace of the area, adding that there was no way the government could allow such brazen lawlessness to continue.
“We have to move to the area to quell the problem. Those arrested are miscreants fomenting trouble in the area. We are going to charge them to court today for prosecution,” he said.
Sulaiman added that the task force and the RRS were fully ready to storm other trouble spots in the state and smoke out miscreants disturbing the peace of innocent Lagosians, saying that the exercise would be continuous.
It is expected that with the raid, calmness will at last return to Lagos Island that had been the theatre of NURTW factional clashes with miscreants unleashing terror on residents of the area.
—Kazeem Ugbodaga