The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Neighbourhood Corps

  • Five held for Neighbourhood Corps official’s death

    Five held for Neighbourhood Corps official’s death

    •Police chief parades 67 suspected cultists

    LAGOS State Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal yesterday paraded 72 suspected cultists including five who allegedly killed a  Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) official, Bolaji Monsuru.

    Muyideen Bello aka  17, Wasiu Adio aka trouble,  Nurudeen Odofin, Rokeeb Adebayo and Balogun allegedly led others, at large, to kill Monsuru last week in Surulere, Lagos Mainland.

    According to Edgal, 57 of the suspects were rounded up during an initiation rite of the Black Axe group at a hideout in Elemoro, Ajah.

    He said henceforth, suspected cultists would be charged with armed robbery and illegal possession of fire arms.

    The commissioner said the command had started to  clamp down on cultists, appealing to parents to prevail on their children to renounce cultism.

    He said: “It is no more business as usual as we are serious on this issue of war against cultism. We have started pressing for stiffer punishment. Before now, it used to be lesser charges against cultists but now we are going to charge them with armed robbery and illegal possession of fire arms.

    “We want to appeal to parents to advise their children to shun cultism as we are serious in charging any suspect with armed robbery and we will not hear any plea from any parent.”

    Edgal said he was happy with the speedy arrest of the suspected killers of the LNSC official, adding :

    “The deceased’s enlistment into the Corps sent jitters down the spine of most cult members because he knew most of them. Hence the suspects, Bello, Adio, Odofin, Adebayo and Balogun along with other accomplices now at large attacked and killed him at Umunede Bar, Mallam Isa Close, Aguda where he had gone to watch soccer at the close of work.

    “The suspects have confessed that they participated in the killing of Bolaji. An axe and a knife with blood stains recovered from the suspects have been sent to the forensic unit of the police for analysis.”

    Edgal said Trouble also confessed to being a senior member of Eiye Confraternity, adding that his group killed one Timothy last October.

    On the suspected Aiye members arrested, Edgal said: “Based on credible intelligence that members of Aiye Confraternity were performing their initiation rites at a shrine in a forest at Ajah, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) mobilised his men. They were assisted by undercover operatives of Area J, Elemoro and men of the Anti-Cultism unit of the command and they stormed the area and arrested 57 members.

    “Two locally made guns, three live cartridges and 22 expended cartridges were recovered from the suspects. Other items recovered from them were two Suzuki mini buses marked LND893XV, and EPE189XV, a Volkswagen bus – EPE580XA, a Mitsubishi space wagon – SMK455AL, and two Toyota Camry. The suspects would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.”

  • Neighbourhood corps foils theft of electricity equipment

    The Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency has foiled a robbery attempt and theft of electricity equipment belonging to an electricity distribution company.

    The safety corps officers attached to Epe division, Ibeju-Lekki, foiled the theft  on December 25 at about 1am.

    The  corps Chairman,  Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG)  Israel Ajao (rtd), said the agency had received a call from  Almubaraq Olalekan  requesting for officers to safeguard some electricity equipment to be installed in the area.

    Ajao said: “Some electricity distribution officials had come to install some equipment at Imagbon-Alade town, Ibeju-Lekki and kept the equipment at the Baale’s house.

    “In view of the request, three Neighbourhood Safety Corps officers were deployed to the place.

    “Intelligence gathering revealed that some hoodlums that heard of Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s rural electrification project planned to steal the electricity equipment kept at the Baale’s house.

    “On December 25 around 1.08 a.m., the Neighbourhood Safety Corps officers saw one tricycle marked GGE 840 QD parked in front of the Baale’s house where the equipment were kept.

    “Four men came down and two of them passed through the left side of the house, moved straight to the window where the equipment were kept and forcefully tried to open it.

    “In the process, the corps officers apprehended two of them while the other two escaped.

    “When the tricycle was searched by the corps officers, a gun loaded with one cartridge was found in the back seat.”

    Ajao added that the suspects, Ishola Lawal and Omotosho Quadri were  handed over to the nearest police station along with other exhibits recovered from the scene.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that one other suspect, Ilori Adeyemi was arrested on January 9 following increase in surveillance.

     

     

     

  • ‘Neighbourhood Corps improving security, emergency response’

    ‘Neighbourhood Corps improving security, emergency response’

    The Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) has improved security and emergency response in the state, to further boost security in the state, Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Relations, Mr Oluseye Oladejo has said.
    Oladejo said this while giving account of activities of his ministry last Friday.
    The government, he said, had commenced another round of recruitment into the corps. The exercise will see an additional 5, 700 people getting employed by the Corps.
    The recruitment, he said, was part of government’s efforts to ensure a well secured and business friendly state, adding that the LNSC will serve as a panacea for efficient and effective policing of the communities and the pathway to economic prosperity, social stability and improved quality of life of people in the state
    Describing the LNSC as a new innovation that is envisioned to become a model community safety corps to the admiration of Lagosians and the nation at large, Oluseye said the establishment of the agency would go a long in complementing the efforts of the existing security agencies in the state and also guarantee return on Investment for business owners.
    He urged the public to join hands with the corps as they are also members of the community working for a safer Lagos.
    Similarly, Oladejo said to reduce emergency response time and tackle emergencies frontally, the various departments and agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of managing safety and emergency have been moved to “Oshodi Safety Arena.”
    He explained that the move would improve co-ordination, synergy and reduce response time to safety and emergency issues across the state.
    The commissioner said an upgrade at the Command and Control Centre, Oshodi will facilitate effective response to emergencies.
    He said: “We have upgraded the technology at the centre to receive calls simultaneously. We have also improved the capacity to receive calls and transfer to the appropriate agencies that would respond to the emergency situation on a 24-hour basis. This has in no small measure boosted the “Golden Time” in response to emergencies.
    “A new dispatch centre for the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has been established in the Lekki axis of the state. The Lekki facility will include a jetty for water rescue activities and will help to improve the response time around Lekki/Epe and its environs when operational. The facility will be inaugurated soon.”

  • CLEEN donates equipment to Neighbourhood Corps

    CLEEN donates equipment to Neighbourhood Corps

    Operational activities of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA) received a boost as the agency received some items for its policing operations.
    The items, donated by the Centre for Law Enforcement and Education (CLEEN) Foundation in partnership with the Justice for All project, included 72 pieces of whistle; 93 pairs of rainboot; 40 pieces of torchlight; 74 pieces of battery, among others.
    At the presentation, which held at the Oshodi agency’s office, LNSA Board Chairman Mr Israel Ajao, a retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), said the items donated are useful for the operational efficiency of its Corps in patrolling the neighbourhood.
    “This is the first donation we are getting from a public spirited organisation and we hope that others will support the effort of government in ensuring peace and security for all. I thank the CLEEN Foundation for this donation. Security is the business of everybody,” Ajao said, adding that LNSA will also need the support of CLEEN in the area of retraining.
    The representative of Justice For All projects, Mr. Jim Davison, extolled the importance of the neighbourhood security programme as it is all about bringing safety to Nigerians. According to him, Nigeria needs the voluntary peace force alongside the police, and now that this has been better organised and with better framework, it is only proper that everybody support it.
    Davison appealed on the need to respect human rights in the discharge of their duties.
    “The Neighbourhood Corps should always remember that they are part of the community and they should respect human rights. They should treat the public how they want their family members to be treated. If you have respect for human rights and treat the public respectfully, then the Corps will get the widest support of the community and hopefully record great success,” he said.
    Ajao said LNSA is aware that it cannot get the support of the public unless it is friendly, courteous, polite and civil in its approach.
    He assured that there would be an effective monitoring mechanism of its Corps members as they go out on patrol.
    “They must not harass people and they have no right to take the law into their hands. They have been warned to be civil while discharging their duty. In the contemporary world, policing is shifting from being reactive to being proactive- that is doing things that prevent crime,” Ajao said.
    The Consultant, CLEEN Foundation, Mrs. Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, said the organisation was motivated to make the donation because of the importance of having a peaceful and secure community. “With Lagos state coming up strongly with security initiatives, we felt we should also support the initiative,” she explained.