Security show of force seeks to reassure Lagos residents

Amid  Lagos residents’ concerns  over alleged attacks by hoodlums during the lockdown, security agencies in the state at the weekend embarked on vigorous show of-force to boost public confidence.

The joint patrols led by the Commissioner of Police (CP) Hakeem Odumosu, heads of Army, Naval and Air Force units as well as representative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) saw the deployment of police and Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helicopters for aerial surveillance and support to ground forces.

The Nation reports that these joint patrols were agreed upon at the last security council meeting where the agencies were urged to eschew rivalry and join forces for the good of the masses.

Prior to that meeting, it was gathered that the military did not want to be part of the enforcement which they felt was a job for the police and the latter always said they were on top of the situation.

But with rising tension across the state over alleged attacks by suspected cultists, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, it was gathered, intervened and even called some of the military service chiefs for reconsideration as the police were becoming overwhelmed.

The governor’s action yielded positive results as video footage of the joint patrols in different parts of the state and interactions with residents flooded the social media over the weekend.

Confirming this incident, police spokesman Bala Elkana in a statement Sunday evening said the large convoy visited several parts of the city mostly on the mainland and the suburbs.

He said residents were addressed in English, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa languages, adding that the CP reassured the people of the unwavering commitment of law enforcement agencies in the state to protect their lives and gos State.

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