The Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, has declared that there are no more kidnappers’ camps in Lagos State following the destruction of over 200 camps hitherto operated by the men of the underworld.
Mr. Edgal, stated this on Thursday at a workshop tagged “Towards a Safe and Secured Learning Environment”, organised by the State Government in Ikeja for Principals, Vice Principals, Counsellors and Hostel Master on safety and security, noting that kidnapping was not peculiar to Lagos State or Nigeria.
He informed that kidnapping in Lagos State was mainly for ransom collection because the kidnappers were formerly armed robbers and pipeline vandals who were frustrated by the fierce battle with the Police.
The Commissioner also said the non-occurrence of a single bank robbery in the state within the last two years underscored the successful efforts of the Lagos State Police Command.
Speaking on “The Roles and Expectations of Security Agencies in Securing Lives and Properties in Our Schools” through his representative, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department, Mr. Bolaji Salami, he opined that schools were seen as soft targets by kidnappers who wanted to put pressure on government and extort ransom from parents.
The Commissioner informed that police has deployed armed personnel to all boarding schools to secure them day and night while an intensive patrol of all neighbourhoods has been heightened to forestall a recurrence.
He warned criminals in the state to find something legal to do because the Rapid Response Squad was now in possession of equipment that could locate anyone in any part of the state; thus there is no hiding place for them in Lagos.
A security expert, Mr. Rawlings Igelugbo, who delivered a paper on “The Role of Principals, Vice Principals, Teachers and Students in a Safe Environment”, urged everyone to be security conscious and raise an alarm whenever a suspicious movement was noticed.
While noting that criminals usually take time to study, plan and execute their nefarious activities, Igelugbo maintained that this process could be thwarted before the final stages of execution and get-away by being vigilant and proactive.
The security expert also advised against the use of untrained people as guards, suggested proper profiling of all employees and warned parents to desist from the unguided display of wealth that could expose children and family members.
Earlier, Prof. Mopelola Omoegun in a lecture titled “Towards a Safer School Environment, A Guidance and Counseling Approach” advised that the teaching of security tips to children in groups, during assembly and classroom lectures will help them become more security conscious, adding that they should be encouraged to be very observant and to report strange movements or faces.