By; RAYMOND TEDUNJAYE, Lagos
Consequent upon reports of locking up of gates to prevent lawful arrest of suspected criminals by police operatives, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Fayoade Adegoke has given an order that such gates should be broken.
Fayoade gave the order while addressing stakeholders at a familiarisation visit to Area “E” command, Festac on Thursday.
He gave the marching order against the backdrop of complaints by the chairman of Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), Area “E” command Rotarian Babatunde Williams that residents of some estate within Festac town deliberate lock up their gates to frustrate policemen from arresting suspected criminals, particularly cultists and drug users.
While reacting to the compliant, the Police Boss frowned at such behaviour, saying it is unbecoming of parents who perpetrate such act, adding that it emboldened the criminals.
He asserted that nobody can stop the police from accessing any premises from carrying out lawful investigation or arrest, stressing that no power stops the police under the law.
” Don’t let me hear such complain again. No power stops the police, the police has the power of ingress, nobody can stop the police into any premises. You should break into it, enter and arrest the suspects. You should also arrest the security that lock the gate for obstructing you”, the feasibly angered Fayoade fumed.
Speaking further, the Police Commissioner expressed serious concern over the attitude of some parents who admire and encourage the youths who are into drugs addiction within their estates and lock the gates to cover them from arrest.
” We need to search our hearts to known if we’re actually assisting the society, that some parents are allowing and encourage the youths in drug addiction, by installing Gates and allow them to hibernate and cover them from arrest”, CP Fayoade stressed.
He however, called for more support from the stakeholders, especially in the area of patrol vehicles to enable the visibility of policemen at strategic points of the communities.
In his welcome address earlier, the Commander Area “E” Command ACP Nwachukwu Eburuaja informed that the command comprises of seven Divisions, adding that they cover a wide range of jurisdictions.
He pointed out that the areas are crime prone because of the large volume of commercial and trade activities along the axis, adding that they have been properly and professionally policed by the respective Divisional Police Officers, coordinated and supported by the himself and the Area Command headquarters.
Nothing that the axis is the gateway to the ECOWAS region, with its multivarious and concommitant troubles associated with trades and mass movement of persons, ACP Eburuaja hinted that the eyes of the officers and men are always on the target for crime prevention and containment.
He however, highlighted the challenges of the Divisions to include lack of patrol vehicles, shortage of manpower among others.
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