…That’s not true – Motorists
The Lagos State police command says the incidence of traffic robbery has been drastically reduced in the state due to many measures it has put in place.
Many motorists didn’t, however, agree with it.
The Lagos Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Bala Elkana, in a chat with Eko Trust yesterday, said while the command cannot claim to have completely eradicated the crime, traffic robbery has reduced drastically in recent times.
Elkana spoke just as pockets of traffic robbery cases were reported in areas like Oshodi-Isolo-Mile 2, predominantly notorious for the activities.
In one of such incidents at the Oshodi-Isolo area, robbers shot a motorist last Thursday in a gridlock and dispossessed him of his smart phones.
The victim, who narrated his experience to Eko Trust on condition of anonymity at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where he is recuperating, said, “I wasn’t used to that Oshodi-Isolo but because of the gridlock at Oshodi-Mile 2, I made a detour to Oshodi-Isolo and right in the traffic gridlock I was attacked by these boys. They shot at my car and I was hit by the pellets. I can see policemen 30 meters away but they couldn’t arrest these miscreants. It was when they heard gunshots that they shot in the air.”
Also, on the state traffic radio, 96.1 FM, several callers on one of the station’s programmes claimed the traffic robbery had returned due to the festive season.
However, the police command maintained the incidents had reduced drastically, while efforts were ongoing to arrest the remnants of the robbers terrorizing residents of the state.
Elkana expressed the determination of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, not only to unlock the gridlock but also to eliminate traffic robbery.
The PPRO said that determination informed the recent deployment of 1000 officers to traffic duties and another set of 1000 added this week for yuletide patrols.
He disagreed with those claiming that traffic robbery was on the increase, describing it as mere speculation.
Elkana disclosed that 22 traffic robbery suspects were currently in police custody and over 202 social miscreants had been arrested from different locations in the state, while different arms and ammunition were recovered.
He said, “I know deep down that traffic robbery is not on the increase in Lagos. It is one of the crimes that we have curtailed. We are not saying that it is no longer in existence, but it has reduced drastically because of the measures we have put in place.
“Traffic robbery has a link with traffic congestion. Once the traffic is not moving, you have traffic robbery going on, which was why the Commissioner of Police declared a state of emergency on traffic. Additional 1000 police officers were deployed for that purpose. Just some days back, we have added another 1000. The Commissioner has also deployed 200 motorbikes to most of the affected areas for traffic control and patrol.”
He urged the residents of Lagos State to go about their normal businesses in the holiday season, saying Lagos was one of the safest places in Nigeria due to the measures the police command had put in place.
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