The police have arrested 191 suspects in connection with the recent attacks in parts of Lagos and Ogun States.
Mr Frank Mba, the Force Public Relations Officer, confirmed this in a statement on Monday.
Amid the lockdown order, some youths were said to have invaded some homes and shops in parts of Lagos and Ogun, dispossessing residents of their belongings.
Among the places affected are Iyana Ipaja and Agege areas of Lagos, as well as Olambe, Giwa Oke-Aro, and Ten-Ten areas of Ogun State.
Residents of some of the communities, however, resorted to keeping vigil around their homes, burning tyres on the roads and streets to ward off the criminals.
In his reaction, the Commissioner of Police in Ogun, Kenneth Ebrimson, insisted that most of the calls they got were false alarm.
Hours later, the Force Public Relations Officer confirmed the arrest of many suspects in a statement.
“A total of one hundred and ninety-one (191) suspects have been arrested in Lagos and Ogun States in connection with the incidents.
“The following exhibits – fifteen (15) locally-made guns, fifty-two (52) live cartridges, forty-two (42) cutlasses and axes, and a large quantity of weeds suspected to be marijuana have been recovered from the hoodlums by the police teams in the Agbado, Ifo, Otta, and Agege axis,” the statement read.
Mba explained that the incidents were activities of hoodlums and street urchins in the border communities between the two states.
He disclosed that the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has ordered the immediate deployment of additional intelligence and operational assets of the Force to strengthen security and bolster public confidence in the affected areas.
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According to the police spokesman, these include personnel of the Police Mobile Force (PMF) Units, Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Intelligence Response Team (IRT) and the Special Tactical Squad (STS).
“The Intervention Team is being coordinated by a Deputy Inspector General of Police, DIG Peter Babatunde Ogunyanwo, fdc, a seasoned crime fighter, who doubles as the DIG in charge of the Department of Research and Planning of the Force and the coordinating DIG for South-West Geopolitical Zone.
“He is to immediately oversee the deployments of these additional assets to enhance public safety, public confidence and general security in the two states,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, the IGP ordered Commissioners of Police across the country to immediately rejig the security architecture in their various Commands to effectively tackle all emerging crimes associated with the COVID-19 lockdown.
The commissioners were also directed to intensify patrols around residential areas, markets, shopping malls and all critical national infrastructure in their jurisdictions.
Similarly, the Assistant Inspectors General of Police in the 12 Zonal Commands have also been directed by the IGP to ensure that their zones were safe and secure for the citizenry to live and thrive.
The statement read further, “The DIG, Peter B. Ogunyanwo,fdc can be reached through this GSM No: 08033893226.
“The Control Room Numbers for Lagos Command are 08127155132, 08065154338 and 07055462708 while that of Ogun Command are 08081770416 and 08081770419.
“The IGP assures the citizens that the police will not sit idly-bye and allow activities of a few criminals to disrupt the peace and security of the country.
“He commends Nigerians for their steadfastness, patience, perseverance, and vigilance at this critical time.”
