SPEAKER of the Lagos House of Assembly, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, spoke the minds of many Lagos residents when he wrote off the performances of law enforcement agencies of the state government. The Speaker also declared that the agencies’ operations were being probed.
Obasa, who scored the agencies, particularly the Lagos State Neighbourhood Security Corps ((LNSC), low, lamented that the agency’s performance had not justified the government’s investment in it.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had publicly presented the agency with a total of 177 vehicles equipped with communication gadgets, 377 motorcycles, 377 helmets, 4,000 bicycles, metal detectors, among other operational equipment, during its re-launch in March. But allegations by community leaders suggest that the activities of the agency leave much to be desired.
A community leader in the Bariga area told Saturday Tribune that the government was missing the point by not getting the “right feedback” from the communities where the members of the corps operate. Chief Bidemi Adeniyi praised the governor for empowering the agency but said he needed to “wake up” in the area of feedback. According to him, “the vehicles purchased for the outfit, how are they being used? Are they using them to patrol the neighbourhood in the night or are they just cruising around with their girlfriends and relations? I sighted a vehicle belonging to Lagos State Neighbourhood Security Corps some time ago in Bariga which was loaded with people who seemed to be going to a party. The vehicle was also carrying food and drinks. I think Governor Ambode should have a monitoring team to know how these vehicles are being used.”
The alleged misuse of patrol vehicles appears to be the least of the many “sins” of the state security outfits as members of the public as well as non-governmental organisations listed the numerous “misdeeds” of the security outfits at a media/civil society forum hosted by the state House of Assembly to commemorate its second legislative year, in July.
Apart from the “poor performance” which Obasa regretted in his speech, the legislature was told by various NGOs and media outfits how officers of the security outfits engaged in indiscriminate arrest of innocent Lagosians on flimsy excuses, all in an alleged bid to extort money from them.
Obasa said the Assembly had been inundated with such complaints from victims and eyewitnesses. He promised a readjustment.
The director of an NGO that collaborates with prison and police authorities on decongestion of prisons gave a statistics on alleged indiscriminate arrests by the “Lagos police”.
She disclosed that about 80 percent of those currently detained in Kirikiri Minimum Prison are victims of incriminate arrest by the state “enforcers”, adding that during her last working visit to the office of one of the agencies, close to 30 persons arrested on sundry allegations were seen with a female officer reportedly shouting “more customers!” as her colleagues walked in, thinking they [the members of the NGO] had also been arrested by the agents, which would translate to more “bail” money.
Ambode was, however clear about the role of the corps, which does not include making arrests. “Let me make it abundantly clear that the Neighbourhood Safety Corps is not in any way in competition with the regular Police Force. In actual fact, they are expected to assist and complement the police by providing useful intelligence for crime prevention and to facilitate the arrest of perpetrators of criminal activities in our communities”, he said. However, reports of the ordeals of Lagosians at the hands of the security outfits suggest otherwise.
Beyond redemption?
Lagos is home to a number of security agencies. These include the Nigeria Police, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Air Force, the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and Federal Road Service Corps (FRSC). Those exclusively owned by the state government include the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation, otherwise known as Task Force, Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), which was recently changed to Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC), also known as the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Office and Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps. But the conducts of officials of these agencies are alleged to be leaving nearly everybody frustrated.
Earlier in the year, Governor Ambode drove VIO away from Lagos roads and confined the FRSC to the fringes. He accused both agencies of contributing to the traffic gridlocks which they were supposed to ease in the first place.
“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate that Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) have been asked to stay off our roads permanently. We also advise the Federal Road Safety Corps to stay on the fringes and highways and not on the main streets of Lagos. It has become evident that these agencies contribute to the traffic challenges on our roads. We will employ technology to track and monitor vehicle registration and MOT certification”. This was the official reason given by the governor.
But the government’s action was said to have also been informed by the alleged discovery of massive corruption in one of the agencies in the generation of revenue for the state government through the payment of fines by traffic offenders. The discovery was said to have been treated quietly in order to spare the banks that were involved. A government source told Saturday Tribune that though traffic offenders were directed to pay fines directly into bank accounts belonging to the state government, officials of certain banks and one of the agencies colluded to be moving the fine monies into a different account, thereby robbing the government of huge revenue.
Another government source, while analysing the situation, rhetorically asked, “Is it normal for government to throw investment away like that? Does it occur to those talking (about the ban) that brand new vehicles running into millions of Naira were purchased for this agency (identity withheld) weeks before the hammer? If they weren’t doing well in their primary assignment on the road, would government have purchased new vehicles for them?”
Epe, Ikorodu raid
While this report was being put together during the week, the Neighbourhood Safety Corps was adding a new dimension to its infamy. The vulcanizer of one of Saturday Tribune reporters disappeared for hours with his (the correspondent’s) car which had been brought to have a deflated tyre fixed. By the time the vulcanizer returned with the vehicle, it turned out that the corps’ officials were raiding vulcanizers operating by the side of the road, confiscating customers’ vehicles and tyres. Saturday Tribune reporter’s vehicle was among those confiscated. Eventually, the vulcanizers were made to cough up un-receipted fines by the members of the corps. While the Epe raid was ongoing, the Ikorodu area was also witnessing a similar show by other members of the corps.
The governor, while inaugurating the scheme, had said its preoccupation was security. Obasa said security had worsened with the coming of the corps with Ikorodu in particular witnessing fresh killings this week. Members of a family of five, including a one-year-old child, were murdered.
In the past, one state agency Lagosians applauded is LASTMA but that is not the case anymore. There are claims that arrests of motorists, including bus, Danfo and Keke Marwa drivers are made by officials of the agency on frivolous excuses and that often times those being arrested are never told their offences before being dragged off to the agency’s office for booking.
A lady who did not want her name mentioned related an encounter with a LASTMA team which stopped the Molue she was travelling in from Oshodi to Iyana Ipaja without any explanation given. According to her, no amount of pleading would make the LASTMA officials change their minds as some of the passengers who were in a hurry looked for another vehicle. “They (the LASTMA officials) did not tell us the offence our driver committed. That is always their attitude,” she said.
A photojournalist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, shared his encounters with officials of KAI and LASTMA at various times in the course of discharging his duties. He said recently, while returning from an assignment, he ran into a team of KAI officials that had just arrested some roadside traders. According to him, the KAI officials placed their legs on the arrested traders inside their truck, which he saw as an opportunity for good photo shots. He said he quickly brought out his camera and took a shot, having sought the understanding and protection of a policeman to take the shot. But, according to him, when the KAI officers turned on him over the photograph, the policeman abandoned him.
“I was standing by a policeman whom I begged to protect me but to my surprise, the policeman left me to my fate. They (KAI officials) pounced on me and tried to take the camera from me. The bystanders were shouting ‘leave him alone! Leave him alone!’ About five of them were struggling to seize the camera from me but I held fast to it. They ended up turning the white shirt I was wearing to a rag but they could not take the camera from me. When they saw that the crowd was about to descend on them, they left me,” the photojournalist said.
At another time at Ojota, he recalled that he stood on the pedestrian bridge in the area to take some pictures, oblivious that he was being watched by some KAI personnel. As he came down, he was blocked by about three KAI officials who asked him to show them the pictures he had taken, a request which he turned down with a query as to why they were always afraid of people taking photographs. A tussle ensued.
“They started dragging me. I was surprised. I asked them why they were afraid of people taking photographs. After much effort, they left me alone, but I discovered that many uniformed men and women in Lagos hate people taking pictures of their activities because they are usually illegal. Many photo journalists have been beaten or had their cameras destroyed by uniformed people”, he lamented.
The man was not done with his LASTMA encounters. His arrest at CMS Bus Stop by officials of the agency was a close shave with death as one of the policemen attached to the team pointed a gun at him. This time, he was accused of dropping a passenger on top of Obalende Bridge. He was immediately taken to LASTMA yard at Lagos Island where he was allegedly given the option of paying N15,000 or paying N50,000 the next day.
“They accused me of dropping a passenger on top of Obalende Bridge. I was taken to LASTMA yard at Lagos Island where I was asked to bring N15,000 or else I would pay N50,000 the next day, and I had only N1,000. I had to sell my car stereo for N1,500 and give them N2,500. One of the LASTMA officials then asked me where I got the money from and I explained to him how I sold my car stereo. He said I was a fool for selling my car stereo. I told him that it was better for me to sell the car stereo and free myself than to pay N50,000 the next day. The LASTMA personnel and the policeman shared the money in my presence.
“I ended up carrying the LASTMA personnel and the policeman in my car to their houses. On our way, on the Third Mainland Bridge, the car stopped and they asked me what happened. I told them that the car had run out of fuel. They made contributions from the money they collected from me to buy fuel so that we could continue the journey”, he said.
The Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) may have been replaced with a new outfit but it does not appear that residents of the state will forget the agency anytime soon.
A resident of Somolu, who identified himself simply as Oni, told Saturday Tribune of his experience with KAI officials, describing it as “something to remember for a long time.”
Oni said: “I was on my way home when I crossed the expressway around Iyana Oworo. I didn’t know that the KAI officials were lurking around. I was not the only one that crossed the expressway. Many of us crossed and just a few of us were arrested. We were taken to a corner. They threatened us that they were taking us to court. They even threatened to lock us inside the Black Maria and we had to begin negotiation with them. I offered them N2,000 but they rejected it. They told me that they would take us to court. I gave them N5,000 before I was allowed to go.”
Adewakun, a public relations consultant, cannot forget in a hurry the trauma he was allegedly subjected to by officials of KAI who arrested his cousin in the Ile Epo area along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
The man told Saturday Tribune that “I never knew that these KAI officials were mischievous until my encounter with them. I was expecting a younger cousin of mine in Lagos. He had the direction to my house and it was taking longer than necessary until I received a call that he had been arrested. When I inquired about his offence, he told me that he was accused of crossing the expressway rather than using the pedestrian bridge at Ile Epo bus stop. After some time, he told me that some of them who were in the Black Maria were negotiating their release and that they were released after paying between N5,000 and N7,000. He had no money on him and he could not negotiate. I had to come to Ile Epo from Aboru to ‘bail’ him from the officials.”
Not long ago, a young man was seen handcuffed and being led into a patrol van belonging to the agency. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the young man was ‘arrested’ for selling bottled water in traffic.
Handcuffing of traffic traders has also been observed at the Bolade area of Oshodi, which is regarded as the hub of traffic trading, especially in the Oshodi-Isolo axis. A trader, who identified himself as Chiziakor Uzor, who claimed to have been selling snacks in traffic for over five years, begged the government to give new orientation and training to officers of the environment scheme replacing KAI. He alleged that KAI officials often treated them as criminals.
“Whenever any of us is caught, not only will he end up being treated like a common criminal, his goods will be confiscated. Many of my friends have at various times been locked up for hours in their Black Maria. I believe this is wrong. We are not criminals, neither are we terrorists, we are just common Nigerians who are striving to make ends meet. This approach is wrong, and must stop,” Uzor, who plies his trade at Amara Olu Street in Agidingbi, said.
Obasa’s challenge on safety corps
Speaker Obasa said, “The aim of this law (setting up the neighbourhood corps) is to ensure that emerging highbrow crimes like killings by herdsmen, kidnapping, ritual killings and terrorism do not take root in Lagos State.”
He argued that it was not only strange but worrisome that despite the presence of neighbourhood watchers, who are primarily expected to know their communities like the palms of their hands, crimes such as cult killings in Ikorodu and kidnapping had become exacerbated in the past months.
“Even though the law establishing the Neighbourhood Safety Corps was just recently passed and the outfit equipped with relevant tools and vehicles, it has not performed to expectation. It is strange for us to have increased Badoo cult killings in Ikorodu despite the presence of the safety corps there, whose members are expected to have detailed information about their communities. Kidnapping and other crimes have also continued and yet members of the security scheme have not been able to come up with helpful intelligence information that could help stem this trend, as expected of them”, he said.
A dashed hope?
While launching the scheme, Governor Ambode had also said that in realisation of the fact that nothing could be more important in law enforcement than educating the people in charge of enforcing the law the rebranded Neighbourhood Corps had been trained and equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills to complement the good work of the Nigerian Police. He said in addition to the induction on orthodox community policing techniques, the members of the corps were also trained on how to mediate in disputes and the art of negotiating for peaceful resolution, balancing communal interest in resolving disputes and proactive policing engagement instead of reactive policing.
“Special hotlines have also been created direct to the Executive Secretary and senior management of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency for easy communication with our communities in the event of any crime. Any valuable information given to the Corps will attract handsome rewards from the state government. I, therefore, call on all Lagosians to join hands with us to say a final NO to crime in our state.
“All these equipment have been made possible through the judicious use of tax payers’ money and funds from the State Lottery Fund for good causes. Please continue to pay your taxes for a better Lagos. I am very happy to state that through this Safety Corps initiative, the state government has created over 7,000 jobs for officers of the Corps, artisans and other support staff. Job creation is at the heart of economic prosperity and we remain fully committed to a more prosperous Lagos for our citizens,” the governor said.
He, however, charged the Corps not to indulge in brutalising citizens and exercise restraint and maturity while carrying out their duties.
We are on top of the situation –Corps’ boss
The chairman of the board of the Neighbourhood Safety Corp Agency, Israel Ajao (a retired Deputy Inspector General of Police), said the board was continuing with its reorientation of members of the corps in the 57 local government areas of the state. The retired police chief said the corps had in the last three months of its operation undertaken some undercover activities that helped them to effectively partner with the state police command.
When asked for his reaction to the speaker’s comment, Ajao said, “I am not aware of that comment. I will react to it when I hear it. I just concluded a meeting with the corps officers of the 57 local government and local council development areas”. Ajao also said that the board of the corps had just concluded a tour of all the local government and local council development areas as part of the activities to re-orientate members of the corps.
On his reaction to the comment by the community leader in Bariga that officials of the corps were converting the operational vehicles to personal uses, the chairman said, “I am also not aware of that. The operational vehicles are for security operations. If you notice anybody using operation vehicles for other purposes, call the attention of the corps’ officers in the local government to it”.
He described the Neighbourhood Safety Corps as a “model for grassroots security operation and should not be allowed to die”, while expressing the commitment of members of the board to repositioning the corps for effective performance.
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