Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps not competing with police – Chairman

Israel Ajao, Chairman, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), has said that the government-sponsored vigilante organisation was not in competition with the police in securing the state.

Ajao told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos that the Neighborhood Watch, recently re-launched by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode, was out to complement other security agencies.

Ajao, a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), said that the new security outfit would collaborate with the police and other agencies in enhancing security in the state.

“Our main duty is to gather information and pass same to the police and other security agents that should work with such information.

“We are not to compete with the police, but to compliment them and other security agents.

“That is why all the security agencies are represented on the board of the corps,’’ said the LNSC chairman.

He said that the organisation would put in place machinery for proactive policing as obtained in metropolitan states in other developed societies.

“In our contemporary world, policing is no longer reactive, but proactive.

“You don’t wait for crime to be committed by reacting, but ensure there are intelligence gathering to prevent the crime from being committed.

“In order to achieve this, our personnel will focus on motorized patrol across the state’s 57 council areas with its171 vehicles and modern communication facilities.

“We are working to make the job of the police and other security agencies easier,’’ Ajao said.

The retired DIG said the organisation’s 5,700-strong personnel had been trained in beat patrol system, practical policing, local knowledge and collaboration with different stakeholders in neighbourhoods.

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According to him, community leaders, associations, educational institutions, road transport workers, market unions and civil society groups are being mobilised to ensure success of the corps.

Ajao urged Lagos residents to see the corps as partners in ensuring safety in their various communities.

“This is a newly reinvigorated and rebranded organisation and not the old neighbourhood watch, therefore, it is not business as usual.

“Our officers are polite, friendly and always ready to serve,’’ Ajao said.

The LNSC boss said the organisation would not tolerate any act of indiscipline, warning that any erring corps member would be shown the way out.