FG moves to stop kidnapping in Lagos

THE Federal Government is deploying hi tech security equipment to Lagos to stop the menace of kidnapping in a corner of that state and in neighbouring Ogun State.

The Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who disclosed this on Friday, decried the incessant cases of kidnapping in the Lagos area even as he said several suspects involved in kidnapping had been arrested.

The Police boss, while speaking with journalists and selected human rights organisations in Lagos on Friday   also described the proposed creation of more security outfits as a waste of resources.

Apart from Lagos, another state that will benefit from the security equipment to be deployed in the next one week is Rivers State, he said.

He specifically said that tracking machines will be deployed to Lagos and Rivers States to track kidnappers and other criminals in the two regions.

The IGP said: “The tracking unit has helped us a lot in solving kidnap cases. I can tell you that we have resolved 90 per cent of kidnap cases across the country. We have rescued victims and arrested most of the suspects in almost all the crimes. Some of the suspects are in our custody.

“We have been able to achieve this with the tracker in Abuja. So, in order to achieve more, we are establishing two other tracking units. One in Lagos and another in Rivers State to serve the East and West.” he added.

While saying that the police intended to buy a lot of gunboats to police the waterways, Idris disclosed that “those terrorising Lagos and Ogun states are from Delta and Ondo states who felt there was more money in Lagos.”

He added that the police would soon come up with the concept of “floating police stations so that the police can dominate the creeks” and deal a fatal blow on kidnappers and other criminals using the waterwyas.

Idris also described the police as the greatest casualty of the Boko Haram activities, claiming that the Force lost more personnel and facilities to the Boko Haram war .

As part of the efforts to stem the tide of kidnapping in the country, the police boss said that the police would in the next few weeks establish tracking units in Lagos and River States.

Idris said: “The funding of the police is costly. What we are trying to do is to pursue 50 per cent of our budgetary requirement from other sources. We are also looking for other avenues where we can address the problems of the police.”

“At the same time, we are hoping that the National Assembly would pass the Bill establishing Police Trust Fund, by so doing, open up other sources for the police to generate money,” Idris added.

He stated that, “It is possible. It is already happening in Lagos (Security Trust Fund) and has been working wonderfully.  We are aware that the Federal Government is financially constrained and so, we don’t think it is right to over burden the system by creating other agencies, which would require funding and create rivalry.

“But if more money is availed the police and more people recruited, we can achieve so much more,” he added.

Idris said “the police lost so many personnel in the course of the Boko Haram insurgency.

“We were the worst hit and still we were not recruiting. So, all these affected the strength of the police.

“Our message has been constant. The country is under-policed. The country has a police force that is grossly underfunded and we need to address these critical issues “ the police boss said .

“The main issue is funding of the police .When you compute the needs of the police, people will shout .In each of the local government in the country, the police is the agency that has the widest spread. When you start calculating the number of vehicles needed, he amount of fuel and even the administrative costs, writing of statement forms, people will shout,” he said.

He said that the police only received N4billion out of the N300 billion that was allocated to it in 2016.

He urged the civil society organisations to call on the National Assembly to consider the funding of the police while adding that funding of the police is in the interest of the country.