Ikodoru Kidnapping: Lawmakers admit inadequate policing of Lagos

Eromosele Ebhomele

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday admitted inadequate policing of Lagos State following the abduction, days ago, of three students of a secondary school in the Imota area of Ikorodu, a community in the state.

The lawmakers further stressed the need for the establishment of state police, saying only this would solve internal crises and security challenges in the state.

The abductors had broken down a part of the fence of the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary, Agunfoye Lugbusi, Ikorodu on Monday and abducted the students for ransom.

Under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, called on the state government to beef up security in the state.

Speaking in Youba, Agunbiade urged the government to educate owners of private schools on how to secure their hostels.

He further pleaded for the creation of state police, while sympathising with the parents of the kidnapped children.

He was supported by his colleagues including Omotayo Oduntan who expressed concern over the frequency of criminal activities in the Ikorodu area of the state.

She also urged Governor‎ Ambode to intensify security in the area.

Oduntan noted that school children should know how to alert security men through 112 or 767 anytime they notice the movement of criminals around their school premises.

Chairman of the House Committee on Eduction, Lanre Ogunyemi, condemned the act, adding that it was surprising that one of the kidnappers was said to be a bricklayer employed for some jobs in the school.

“The insiders must have been behind the incident. The hoodlums came from far area. We would like the state government and law enforcement agents to rescue the children,” he said.

While summing up the deliberation, Speaker Mudashiru Obasa noted the inadequacy of security operatives in the state and even the nation.

He supported the call for the creation of state police by the Federal Government.

“We learned that policemen got to the school, where the incident happened late. The Federal Government should allow state police to reduce such incidents.

“Private schools should also tighten-up security in their schools. We learnt that the wall of the school was broken by the hoodlums through which they gained entrance into the school. Also, CCTV cameras should be installed in the schools to monitor criminals,” he said.