13th January, 2014
EROMOSELE EBHOMELE
Standing before members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, western Nigeria on Monday evening, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Umar Manko, accused politicians of being responsible for the inability of the police to successfully prosecute criminals in the state.
Manko, who, with his subordinates honoured an invitation of the House in relation to issues with the security of the state as well as the recent protest by some Badagry residents over the demolition of their houses by officials of the police, said his men are always alert to distress calls.
He however said when officials of the police arrest suspected criminals and offenders and charge them, the suspects soon find their way out probably because they have some politicians and top society people backing them.
The lawmakers had complained about the increasing rate of cult activities and killings in parts of the Lagos Mainland area of the state.
Reacting to this, Manko said: “I can tell you that in those days, cultists used to operate in institutions of higher learning, but now cultists are found in garages and parks and some of them are known to members of the society.
“Concerning that man that was alleged to have killed someone in Bariga, I can tell you that the young man has been committed to prison more than five times before.
“My duty as a policeman is to arrest them and take them to court, but some of these criminals still come back into the society after some time. Some of the boys used during campaigns by politicians later turn out to be cultists.”
Manko said despite the challenge, officers of the force have continued to make progress in combating crime and checking the proliferation of small arms in the state.
He said the command has started compiling names of known criminals in the state and that the list would soon be made available to the public so that people would see how frustrating it is to arrest criminals only for them to find their way back to the streets.
Concerning the demotion of buildings in Badagry, the Commissioner confirmed that the disputed land belongs to the police. According to him, the police paid the sum of N176 million to acquire the land years ago and that it obtained a Certificate of Occupancy.
He also said the occupants of the land had been issued with notices since 2007.
He explained that the state police command had a good relationship with the Ogun State Police Command since they belong to the same zone and agree on common issues.
He denied allegation that officers of the force in the command had been extorting motorcycle riders who operate in legitimate areas in the state.
He explained that the police do hand seized motorcycles over to state Task Force on Environmental Protection where owners of the motorcycles contravene the state Road Traffic Law.
He also defended his men moving around the state at night without their uniforms saying this had helped in crime reduction in the state.
Manko also wondered why heavy duty vehicles still moved freely within the state despite a law restricting their movement to a particular time of the night.