Sanwo-Olu links abandoned buildings to security threats, calls for state police

Concerned about what he described as a long list of abandoned buildings across Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Lagos state and their possible security threats, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has vowed to take proactive action to forestall a breakdown of law and order.

According to him, his administration was on the verge of recruiting additional 1,500 men into the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) to boost intelligence gathering in local communities and aid security agencies to quickly respond to crimes.

“Two days ago, I receive a report of abandoned buildings across the state from Neighbourhood Watch. The list is about 250 pages with addresses and pictures of the buildings. These are some of the places where criminals and miscreants hide to launch their activities. We are passing this list to security for immediate response and actions. This surveillance speaks to the necessity of state police. All the preventable criminalities happening are because we have not agreed as a nation that there should be the state police.

“We have been an advocate of state police and it is one of the submissions I made at the recent hearing on a constitutional amendment in Lagos. State police is a force whose time has come. Whether it is Amotekun or Neighbourhood Watch, these are all pointers to the necessity of States to have police to make them stronger.

“All the kidnapping and killings we have been witnessing can be nipped in the bud. Our challenge in Lagos is not having forests where kidnappers hide; it is more about cultism. I need to think global but localise my response to these challenges,” he said.