Afrigather The Commissioner of Police in control of Lagos Command, Idowu Owohunwa, has assured residents of the state of higher safety throughout the gubernatorial election arising on March 11.
Owohunwa gave the reassurance on Wednesday throughout an interactive assembly with strategic safety stakeholders comprising opinion moulders and patriotic personalities throughout socio-political, ethno-religious, and financial divide in Lagos State.
Civil society teams, youths, market merchants, Nigeria Bar Affiliation, celebrities, Nigeria Union of Journalists and conventional rulers from the Arewa, Igbo and Yoruba ethnic teams had been current on the assembly.
Mr Owohunwa mentioned that the assembly was to overview the safety throughout the Presidential and Parliamentary elections on Saturday, establish threats, strengthen partnership and belief, with a view to having higher safety for different elections.
“In all, the intention of the assembly is to bridge communication gaps, arrive at a consensus in our understanding of present safety points, and current a standard entrance to proactively douse undue tensions that might snowball into a serious risk to public peace if not promptly mitigated.
“On this context, the precise goal of this pressing assembly is to overview present safety developments within the aftermath of the 2023 Presidential and Nationwide Meeting elections in Lagos State and the stress and broad apprehension emanating therefrom.
“This has turn into crucial granted that from the Police operational perspective, for the reason that conclusion of the train on Saturday twenty fifth February, 2023, we have now responded to not lower than 70 security-related callouts by Lagosians.
” Instructively, nonetheless, practically 80 per cent of such presumed misery calls had been discovered to learn by false suggestions that had been largely knowledgeable by apprehension and misinformation, and fueled by faux information from some parts,” he mentioned.
The police boss mentioned that few cases that turned out to be actual calls had been largely makes an attempt by misguided native urchins to threaten residents at particular areas.
Owohunwa famous that such calls had been localised, uncoordinated, and unpremeditated, stressing that they had been all promptly mitigated by the police, whereas a number of arrests had been made.
He mentioned the command additionally upscaled deployments throughout all recognized flashpoints and weak localities, whereas sustaining patrols and visibility policing throughout the general public area.
The police commissioner mentioned this was as a way to reassure residents of their security and deter potential mischief makers from manifesting.
Mr Owohunwa mentioned that whereas all of the efforts had been emplaced, main challenges remained the real worry of crime by the residents on one hand, and manipulation of the media area by unfold of pretend information.
He known as on the stakeholders to work with the police in direction of dousing the present safety rigidity throughout the state.
The CP urged them to provide help to current a standard entrance in confronting the felony parts that had been bent on threatening the valued peace, safety and livelihood of residents.
Owohunwa appealed to them to discourage subversive brokers that set off and disseminate unfounded faux information as a way to deepen rigidity and engender discord.
“As an illustration of the significance that I connect to residents engagement in my policing management, my plan is to mainstream this initiative by institutionalising it as a Police-Residents City Corridor (PCT), which will likely be a discussion board that will likely be pushed by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos State.
”The city corridor will comprise representatives of CSOs, related associations, youth our bodies, media practitioners and different strategic stakeholders.
“It’ll meet with the Lagos State Police management on month-to-month foundation to x-ray policing points, safe suggestions on considerations on crime, threats, {and professional} conducts from the residents by the CSOs, act as police-public accountability framework,” he mentioned.
A Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, who counseled the CP for the assembly, urged Nigerians to not take election as battle, however carnival as being finished in different climes.
He known as on the police to make sure that these arrested throughout the presidential election had been charged earlier than a regulation court docket instantly to function a deterrent to others planning related issues in future elections.
Mr Falana known as on residents of Lagos to return out en masse within the subsequent elections with out worry of harassment, assuring them of court docket motion in opposition to anybody that harasses them.
Dr Joe Odumakin, a member of the civil society group, known as on INEC to enhance in logistics within the subsequent elections, stressing that supplying electoral supplies late may trigger violence.
Ms Odumakin urged the citizens to not poll with their blood, calling for peace by all residents.
Mr Monday Ubani, Chairman, NBA Ikeja Department, known as on the residents to not enable politicians to divide them.
He urged the police to examine actions of hoodlums in Lagos, who had been those snatching poll bins.
An Igbo conventional ruler in Lagos, Eze Lawrence Nnamdi, known as for peace by all.
The Oodua Individuals’s Congress, represented by Chief Yinka Oguntimehin, mentioned that one approach to examine electoral violence was by such conferences.
He suggested that it must be replicated by the Space Commanders and DPOs earlier than subsequent elections.
Alhaji Adamu Mohammed, one of many Arewa representatives on the assembly, urged all residents to keep away from issues that might deliver division and violence.
For the celebrities, Folarin Falana (AKA Falz) a musician/Actor and skit maker, Mr Macaroni, mentioned the police should guarantee residents of their security within the subsequent elections.
Additionally they urged the police to cost these arrested for electoral violence to court docket instantly earlier than the following elections.
The commissioner of police, after the assembly, ordered all the realm commanders and DPOs to carry such conferences within the space between now and Friday, whereas they submit studies to him on Monday.
On these arrested throughout the elections, Owohunwa mentioned that they’d be charged to court docket on Monday as requested by the stakeholders.
(NAN)
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