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Tag: Police

Lagos Polls: Why we reviewed curfew time – Police

…CP dismisses allegations of bias, compromise

Lagos Police Commissioner (CP) Olohundare Jimoh has said the upward review of restriction on vehicular movement on Saturday from 3am-3pm to 6am-3pm was to allow people with medical, other emergencies get help.

He also noted that persons who had earlier planned international travels and might want to get to the airports will also be able to do so before 6am when there will be restriction on vehicular movements till elections are concluded by 3pm.

He gave the explanations during an interview with reporters at the command headquarters in Ikeja after a security briefing with Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and head of special units on preparedness for the polls.

“We have adjusted the vehicular restriction time now from 6am to 3pm because of the fact that there are a lot of people with medical emergencies and medical appointments.

“Equally those who have had a long term plan of international flight of coming into the country and going out. So that time may not be suitable for what they are going to do.

“So restriction on vehicular movement will start by 6am and it will end by 3pm when the voting will have ended,” said CP Jimoh.

According to the CP, the police were fully ready for the exercise, urging the political actors to play by the rules.

He dismissed allegations that the police and Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) were planning to compromise the polls in favour of one political party, stressing that security remained apolitical.

“There is nobody that has written any petition against the Lagos State Police Command or against me as a person that there is an iota of compromise from our end.

“We don’t compromise. We are clearly apolitical. I am not a spokesperson for LASIEC and I would not be competent to talk about LASIEC.

“But being on the same platform, we are giving level playing ground to everybody and allowing everybody to come out and show your popularity.

“It is only someone that wants to blackmail the system that will come up with such an allegation. I want to make it abundantly clear to everyone that the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command is not partisan in any form. We don’t pay patronage to any political party.

“We have ensured that we do everything according to the law and with the dictates of the Electoral Act, that is what we will continue to do.

“So if anybody is expressing some fear of losing his or her certain area, let such a group or group of individuals address their matter and not point accusing fingers on either police or LASIEC,” he stressed.

On security deployment for the polls, CP Jimoh said there would be more than enough operatives in all the polling units, adding that armed security would be stationed at close proximity to the polling areas for quick intervention and response should the need arise.

“We have ensured maximum deployment and protection for all the political parties that are partaking in this election. There are 15 in number and we have 13,325 polling units across the 20 local government areas and 33 LCDAs in the state. We have maximum vital security for all these activities.

Read Also: Lagos LG poll: Police restrict movement from 6:00am-3:00pm Saturday

“As I speak with you, there has not been any incident of threat to peace or exhibition of violence throughout the period of this election. It doesn’t come by chance, it’s as a result of the coordinated adequate planning by the police force. We have been working together with other security and safety agencies to ensure that we are on the same page.

“Our deployment is going to be jointly under my office because we have what we call the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security and we have been doing well. “We have met severally and this comprises the police, the military and other security and safety agencies. I co-chair the ICCS with the chairman and it has been giving out results.

“We have been meeting with stakeholders, the political parties under IPAC and all the representatives of all the parties and they have assured of good conduct. So far so good. They are conducting themselves peacefully and we want them to extend this spirit of sportsmanship to the period of the election,” said the CP.

Continuing, he said the police carried out a threat assessment to enable the service to know the flashpoints and areas of likely disturbances.

“We have equally sought the approval of the Inspector General of Police for additional personnel outside this command and he has approved the deployment of close to 10,000 police personnel to augment our strength in the command.

“Election security is what we have been doing for a long time- general and off season- We know that the local government election is the one closest to the grassroots where every representative are picked from and so we considered that fact in our deployment.

“We appreciate the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, for approval additional deployment of personnel and equipment to the command to ensure there is overwhelming security deployment during this election.

“There will be enough police personnel in each of the polling units. We have equally strengthened cooperation with other agencies and identified where they are going to deploy.

“We have ensured continuous raid of criminal hideouts throughout state and have removed a lot of them from the streets. We have a plan in place to ensure that we nip in the bud, any form of threat to safety during this period and even beyond,” he added.

Aside from the 10,000 personnel deployed from outside the state, the IGP also ordered the Police Mobile Force (PMF), Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) commands from the southwest states to provide backup.

Speaking on the show-of-force conducted earlier, CP Jimoh said it was a confidence building patrol which comprised the police, military, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Federal Fire Service and other government security and safety agencies.

The Nation reports that the show which commenced at the command headquarters in Ikeja, marched through Ikeja, Agege, Oshodi, Mushin and environs.

“This is a form of confidence building for the people to be fully assured that they are safe to come out. And it is equally of note to let the people know that there is a warning to who will be criminal and those people who are planning to foment trouble.

“They know that there is no place they can put their leg in causing distortion for the process. So this equally will get the officers and men on the show of force exercise to be familiar equally with the terrain and be able to have control of the entire security situation.

So like the question you asked me we are good to go. Our deployment has been completed and areas of shortcomings addressed.

“I wanted to use this opportunity to get it across to Lagosians and visitors that the state is safe. We are going to ensure maximum security for everyone- electorates, electoral officials, adhoc staff,” said CP Jimoh.

Of importance, he said, was the lecture to policemen on election duty to give special attention to physically challenged individuals who would come out to vote as well as the elderly.

Acknowledging that problems could arise after results have been announced, the CP said the security plan also made arrangements for such situations. He said players have been advised to ensure that the channel their grievances without causing disturbance to the peaceful atmosphere being enjoyed in the state.

“Anybody with grievances that doesn’t approach it in line with the electoral act and the law of the land will be apprehended, investigated and prosecuted,” he warned.

CP Jimoh cautioned persons with security escorts to leave them behind when going to cast their votes.

“VIPs, no matter the person or office occupied are not allowed to go into the polling booth with their escort. They will be there to vote as every other Nigerian to avoid issues or intimidation or harassment,” he said.

July 10, 2025
Lagos LG poll: Police restrict movement from 6:00am-3:00pm Saturday

The Lagos State Police Command has revised the restriction period for vehicular and waterways movement ahead of the July 12, 2025, Local Government elections.

Elections will be held across the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas of Lagos State.

In a statement on Thursday, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, said movement will now be restricted from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm, instead of the previously announced 3:00 am to 3:00 pm.

He said the adjustment was made to accommodate residents with critical medical emergencies and those with international travel plans.

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“To alleviate the problem of residents with critical medical emergencies and appointments, and those with longtime international travel plans in and out of the country, the restriction of vehicular movement is hereby readjusted to commence at 6:00 AM and end at 3:00 PM on Saturday, July 12, 2025 and not from 3am as earlier announced. Members of the Public are enjoined to cooperate and respect the new timing,” Hundeyin said.

The Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to a secure and orderly electoral process.

Residents were urged to remain vigilant and report suspicious activities to 08063299264 or 08065154338.

July 10, 2025
Police travails

We wonder the kind of reforms several IGPs said they did if the pensions, salaries and welfare generally of our policemen are still as appalling as they are

Visibly angry and justifiably so, a retired Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr Fatai Owoseni, has severely denounced the paucity of funding and lack of concern for the welfare of policemen and officers. Speaking in an interview on the News Central TV’s Breakfast Central Programme, Mr Owoseni revealed that police divisions in the country are forced to operate on running costs of as little as N30,000 monthly.

Surely, here is someone who cannot be accused of not knowing what he is saying. Citing his experience in Lagos, he asserted that “You have a Divisional Police Office like in Ikeja Police Division that has an area of responsibility so large, and what you use to fund that police division is N30,000, to do what?”.

Continuing, Mr Owoseni noted that “Where you have a policeman posted from Jigawa to Ikorodu in Lagos and there is no accommodation for him or anything; that sleeps inside vehicles in the police station, yet the people that rule us, that have the power, will come out shamelessly to say that policemen stink. How will that policeman not stink when he sleeps inside an exhibit vehicle and wakes every morning? He looks for pure water (satchet water) because he has no family in Ikorodu, and he is transferred from Jigawa. So where do we go from there?”

Owoseni ‘s revelations only reinforce what has long been known as regards the chronic underfunding of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the humiliating indignities to which the organisation’s personnel are exposed. It is obviously because of the huge deficit in funding that most police divisions across the country either do not have requisite crucial operational vehicles or are even unable to fuel such vehicles where they are availableThus, police officers are several times known to have requested that members of the public who call on them for rescue in times of emergencies send down vehicles to convey their men to the scene of danger, a request most people in panic can obviously not meet. Again, many policemen are said to set up check-points and collect illegal ‘tolls’ from members of the public in order to buy fuel or sundry spare parts for their vehicles.

In the same vein, a good number of policemen are reported to buy their own uniforms and boots even when they are on salaries and allowances that they consider insufficient, demeaning, dehumanising and unjust, especially against the considerable demands of the profession and the grave risks they face daily in the challenge of fighting crime and bringing criminals to justice.

In further confirmation of Owoseni’s pathetic portraiture of the plight of officers and men of the NPF, a special report in The Punch newspaper, featured several retired and serving officers bitterly decrying their conditions of service and particularly their pensions and other retirement benefits after no less than three and a half decades of service to the nation in the NPF.

One of such police retirees who bowed out of the NPF after 35 years was seen in a viral video lamenting that he was contacted nearly nine months after retirement and asked to report to collect his gratuity of N2 million and pension arrears of N1 million adding up to N3 million. The understandably bitter police retiree was heard in the video bemoaning his fate: “I’m not collecting that money; let my service be in vain. I don’t have money, and N2 million will not solve or make me a rich man. I cannot serve this country for 35 years and be paid N2 million. Please the IG should intervene”.

Another issue that emanated with regard to police welfare and retirement benefit schemes in The Punch story is the gross disparity in salaries and welfare among service men and officers in different security agencies.

One of the officers interviewed, Festus Ogbebo, said he held a two- star Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) rank and would soon be due for promotion to Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). However, he lamented that while he currently earns N30, 000, “my counterpart in the army, who retired as a two- star ASP, is earning over N150,000”.

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It certainly cannot be that the responsibility of maintaining internal security, which is the purview of the police, is less important than defending the territorial integrity of the country, which is the prime duty of the military. Both are critical and mutually reinforcing responsibilities for which both operatives of the military and the police deserve to be treated fairly, and with due respect for their welfare and well-being.

Again, a number of the police retirees complained that they were previously under the Pension Fund Administrators where they enjoyed a more just and equitable treatment before their forced transition to the present Nigeria Police Pension Administrator under a contributory pension scheme that they consider unfair and dysfunctional.

Police authorities should seriously consider reverting to a pension scheme structure that most police retirees consider fair and just or concretely address and eliminate identified lapses under the current scheme.

Surprisingly, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, has reportedly ordered an investigation directing the NPF Pensions Limited to identify any possible lapses and ensure appropriate actions are taken to address issues raised. Given the number of years he served in the NPF and in different spheres within the organisation, we expect the IGP to be quite conversant with the pertinent issues.

But it is better late than never. We expect Egbetokun to deal not only with grievances revolving around pensions and retired benefits, but also the entire gamut from adequate welfare, adequate equipment and operational funding as well as proper motivation.

Most of these issues boil down once again to the deficiencies of the kind of overcentralised police structure which we have today, especially against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s evident lack of the requisite funds to effectively fund the NPF effectively to achieve optimum performance. Creation of state police will bring more boots on ground across the states, thus enabling the NPF to restrict itself to dealing with federal and inter-state crimes.

While the various states fund policing structures and operations within their jurisdictions, the NPF will be able to more optimally utilise federal funding available to it to perform its functions with greater efficacy.

As it were, the NPF today is almost wholly dependent on the states for funding, arms, kits, operational vehicles, including Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), communication equipment and staff welfare, among others. Yet, its unitary structure continues to render it ineffectual and almost always impotent in the face of crime.

Surely, we cannot continue to do the same thing in the face of our grave security challenges and expect to reap a different outcome from the harvest of needless bloodshed and horrendous destruction that has been our lot for many years now.

With the current pensions, welfare, equipment and motivation impediments plaguing the NPF, the officers and men cannot but be psychologically disoriented, mentally besieged, frustrated and predisposed, often unprovoked, to aggression towards members of the public they are supposed to serve.

These factors are also responsible for the pervasive corruption associated with the police, their callous disposition on duty and their utter disregard for human lives. Although we are most often quick to blame policemen and officers for these shortcomings, the truth is that a society invariably gets the kind of police force that it deserves.

July 10, 2025
Police arrest man stealing goods from moving truck

Operatives of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad (RRS) have arrested a 47-year-old man, Taiwo Hassan, for allegedly stealing goods from a moving truck transporting cargo out of Lagos.

Hassan was apprehended in the Costain area while allegedly offloading stolen goods from a moving truck into a separate vehicle.

The arrest followed weeks of intelligence-led surveillance and efforts by the RRS to clamp down on a syndicate believed to be responsible for coordinated thefts targeting transit trucks, especially those coming from the Apapa port axis.

According to preliminary investigations, Hassan is part of a criminal gang that specializes in looting goods from trucks at night while the vehicles are in motion or briefly stationary in traffic.

The stolen goods are typically transferred into waiting vehicles without the knowledge of the truck drivers.

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Items recovered from the suspect at the scene include a Toyota Sienna vehicle loaded with 10 cartons of Top Café 3-in-1 coffee, seven Littmann Classic II stethoscopes, medical textbooks, doctors’ manuals, and two pouches of surgical theater kits.

Hassan’s accomplice, identified as Sheriff, managed to flee the scene upon sighting the police operatives.

Confirming the arrest, Commander of the RRS, CSP Shola Jejeloye, stated that the suspect will be arraigned in court. He added that efforts are ongoing to track down the fleeing accomplice and other members of the gang.

July 9, 2025
Lagos LG Polls: Police restrict vehicular movements, beef up security

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Olohundare Jimoh, has ordered massive deployment of personnel across the state ahead of the Local Government (LG) elections on Saturday.

Jimoh disclosed this in a statement signed by the command’s spokesperson, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said the deployment was to ensure a hitch-free exercise.

The commissioner also announced restrictions on vehicular movements between 8:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

“Elaborate security arrangements and comprehensive security measures have been put in place to ensure security, safety, and peaceful and orderly conduct of the LG elections.

‘The command with other security and safety agencies is working together under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

“The restriction of vehicular movements will apply to all roads and waterways within the state jurisdiction,” he said.

He added that police escorts and armed security aides were strictly prohibited from accompanying their principals to polling units or collation centres. The measure was to prevent any undue influence or intimidation during the election.

“Police escorts, covered number plates, and the use of sirens at or in the vicinity of polling units and collation centres are prohibited,” he said.

CP Jimoh said that only vehicles designated for essential services, such as ambulances, fire trucks, and patrol vehicles operated by security agencies in the ICCES, would be permitted to operate during the restriction period.

“All other vehicles, including those belonging to any quasi-security outfit and state security agencies, are barred from movement, as no state-owned security agency is authorised to participate in the election security operations, in line with the electoral act.

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“The movement restriction will not apply to essential services such as those on medical emergencies and other emergency responders and their workers, the duly accredited officials of the LASIEC and accredited election observers and media practitioners on election coverage accredited by LASIEC.

“These categories of groups and individuals are permitted to carry out their lawful duties during the election period, provided they adhere to all the relevant guidelines and regulations in the electoral act,” the commissioner said.

He said that all the security agencies personnel and other stakeholders, including the media and election observers accredited by LASEIC for the election, would have and wear their identification tags certified by LASEIC throughout the period of the election.

“No one without the identification tag will be allowed to take part in the election. Anyone arrested without an identification tag will be investigated and prosecuted in line with the Electoral Act, “he said.

(NAN)

July 9, 2025
Nasarawa police arrest suspected cultist, recover firearm

The Nasarawa State Police Command has arrested a suspected cultist and recovered a firearm during a routine patrol in Lafia.

According to a statement released on Monday by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ramham Nansel, the arrest occurred around 12:10 a.m. on July 8, 2025, behind the A.A Rano Gas Plant in Lafia.

Nansel stated that operatives from the Ombi 1 Division intercepted three young men dressed in red clothing, an attire commonly associated with cult groups. On sighting the patrol team, the suspects fled, but one of them, identified as Hassan Isah Sidi, 38, of Millionaires Quarters, Lafia, was apprehended after a chase.

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A search of the suspect led to the recovery of an English-made pistol and criminal charms suspected to be used for unlawful activities. Police said efforts are ongoing to arrest the two remaining suspects.

Commissioner of Police, CP Shettima Jauro Mohammed, commended the patrol team for their swift action and reiterated the Command’s determination to eradicate cultism and related crimes from the state.

The Command also urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities to the nearest police station.

July 8, 2025
Police intensify crackdown on criminal hideouts in Nasarawa hotels

The Nasarawa State Police Command has strengthened its efforts to clamp down on criminals using hotels as hideouts for illicit activities.

Commissioner of Police, CP Shettima Jauro Mohammed, announced the move during a strategic meeting with hotel owners and managers from all 13 local government areas of the state at the command headquarters in Lafia.

He urged hoteliers to remain vigilant and not allow their premises to be used as safe havens or meeting points for cultists and other criminal elements.

A statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Ramhan Nansel, quoted the Commissioner as ordering a crackdown on all known and suspected criminal hideouts across the state.

The directive follows credible intelligence indicating plans by cult groups to mark July 7th (7/7) with coordinated criminal operations in parts of the country, including Nasarawa.

“You are our partners in security. As the eyes and ears of the community, we urge you to be alert and report any suspicious gatherings or bookings immediately. If you see something, say something,” the CP stated.

The hoteliers, in response, commended the initiative and pledged full cooperation with the Police and other security agencies in curbing crime and safeguarding peace across the state.

Read Also: Gunmen kill two policemen in Imo

Following the meeting, CP Shetima ordered intensive, intelligence-led raids on all suspected cultist enclaves and criminal hideouts across Nasarawa State.

He further instructed all officers involved in the operation to act with professionalism, respecting the fundamental human rights of all citizens while discharging their duties.

The Nasarawa State Police Command assures residents of its unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of all communities, especially in the face of emerging threats. Citizens are encouraged to remain law-abiding and continue supporting the police by providing timely and useful information

July 8, 2025
Niger police rescue 35 kidnapped victims
- Eight kidnap-suspects, cultists held
No fewer than 35 kidnapped victims, including women and children, have been rescued by security operatives in Niger State following intensified operations targeting criminal elements relocating from the Birnin-Gwari forest in Kaduna State.

The victims, who were abducted at different times from various communities in Niger State such as Pandogari, Madaka, Allawa, and Sarkin-Pawa, and even as far as Taraba State, had been held captive for over a year, according to the statement by the Police Publuc Relations Officer (PPRO) SP Wasiu Abiodun.

Acting on intelligence, police tactical teams intercepted a vehicle along the Madaka-Makujeri road between July 3 and 5. The vehicle, driven by one Yusuf Abdullahi from Birnin-Gwari, was found conveying some of the victims to Yauri in Kebbi State, where they were to be handed over to other members of the kidnapping syndicate.

Others had reportedly been dropped off in Tegina to board separate vehicles to the same destination.

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The driver was arrested on the spot, while the victims were safely rescued and taken to a medical facility for treatment. They have since been reunited with their families, according to the Niger State Police Command.

In a similar operation on July 4, at about 4:30 pm, another group of victims, five women and six children, were intercepted in Agwara while attempting to cross a river en route to Yauri. The Divisional Police Officer in Agwara took custody of the victims and recovered two magazines and 60 rounds of live ammunition.

The rescued individuals were subsequently transferred to the State Police Headquarters in Minna for further investigation and care.

Wasiu said that investigations are ongoing to track down other fleeing kidnappers and ensure the safe recovery of additional victims still in captivity.

In a similar development, the police have arrested eight suspected kidnappers in a series of coordinated intelligence-led operations across Delta, Katsina, Adamawa and Edo States.
July 8, 2025
Police advisory

The Lagos State Police Command has advised the public especially those who lost their vehicles to theft or left abandoned around the city to report at Owode Onirin Division Police Station for identification and claims within 14 days.

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The vehicles are: Cruiser Saloon car with number plate: BDG 332 CU; Mercedez Benz 190 saloon car FJ 156 KJA; Mazda saloon car EV 670 APP and Subairu mini bus APP 567 BH; , according to CSP Abdulkadir M. Song, Divisional Police Officer, Owode Onirin.

July 8, 2025
Police arrest eight suspected kidnappers, cultists, rescue two victims

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has arrested eight suspected kidnappers in a series of coordinated intelligence-led operations across Delta, Katsina, Adamawa and Edo States.

Two victims of kidnapping who had earlier been abducted by the hoodlums were also rescued by the police during the operations.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the details of the operations revealed that two individuals – Godday Irieude and Wisdom Emeka were abducted from their farm in Ewatto area on 26th June 2025 at about 1am in Edo State.

Adejobi said police operatives, in synergy with local vigilante groups, trailed the abductors to their hideout where they launched a coordinated rescue operation.

He said, “The kidnappers upon sighting police operatives, engaged them in a fierce gun duel. However, the superior fire power of the operative caused the kidnappers to flee with various degrees of gunshot injuries, leading to the rescue of the kidnapped victims unhurt”.

Similarly, police operatives attached to the Delta State Command, acting on credible intelligence and a search warrant, stormed a residence in the Mosogar area occupied by two suspected cultists identified as 29-year-old Koko Josh and Asomugha Clinton, 27.

“A thorough search of their premises led to the recovery of one fabricated Beretta pistol loaded with two rounds of live ammunition, two locally made guns, eight live cartridges, multiple mobile phones, a laptop and fetish items. Follow-up investigation led to the arrest of two additional suspects; Anthony Kelvin (26) and Gift Amotsuka (25) all confirmed to be members of Aiye Confraternity,” Adejobi said.

In a separate operation executed in Okpanam area of Delta State, the FPRO said police operatives arrested two suspects identified as Ekene Chroma, 36 years and Okafor Jonathan, 18.

He said the suspects were caught in possession of two English-made single-barrel guns and 110 live cartridges.

The police spokesman said preliminary investigations revealed the suspects’ involvement in illegal arms dealing, acting as suppliers and couriers for wanted criminals.

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In a separate operation in Funtua, Katsina State, operatives of the Force Intelligence Department – Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT) apprehended one Yunusa Ishaku, 40 years, in possession of two stolen vehicles comprising a Toyota Hiace bus and a Toyota Camry.

The police said during interrogation, the suspect confessed to his role in a nationwide vehicle theft ring targeting Abuja, Jos, and other cities, with stolen vehicles being conveyed to Niger Republic for resale.

He further revealed the locations of three additional stolen vehicles comprising Honda Accord, Toyota Carina II, Toyota Camry 98 models in Zamfara and Bauchi States.

The police said efforts were being intensified to apprehend Ishaku’s accomplices and recover more stolen exhibits.

July 7, 2025