• Says Road Traffic Law has come to stay and must be enforced strictly • Assures Lagosians of adequate security during the Eid-El_kab...
• Says Road Traffic Law has come to stay and must be enforced strictly
• Assures Lagosians of adequate security during the Eid-El_kabir celebrations, National Sports Festival
• Assures Lagosians of adequate security during the Eid-El_kabir celebrations, National Sports Festival
Oct 24, 2012 - The Police in Lagos Wednesday indicted operators of commercial motorcycles in the State saying most of the robbery operations recorded by the Police over time were carried out by the operators.
The Police also warned that the newly promulgated Road Traffic Law by the State Government has come to stay and would be enforced strictly even as they assured Lagosians that adequate preparations have been made to secure their life and property during the Eid-El-Kabir celebrations.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Abubakar Manko, who made the pronouncement after the weekly State Security Council meeting chaired by the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at the Lagos House Marina, expressed dismay that the commercial motorcycle operators have caused much damage in the State pointing out that Police would not succumb to any blackmail from anywhere in their total enforcement of the law.
Mr. Manko, who fielded questions from newsmen after the meeting, declared, "Motorcyclists have done so much damage in Lagos State. I am the Commissioner of Police and I am telling you from the point of knowledge that most of the armed robberies that we recorded were carried out by these motorcyclists. People go to the banks to collect money, they will hang around banks, they will hang around peoples' houses, take their belongings, collect their money, even in traffic holdups",
According to him, "Now that we have a law that says they should not operate in certain places, restricted areas; that law is going to be enforced. The State has about 9,010 roads and only 400 of these roads are being restricted for now, which may be about 25 percent of the roads in the State, so how can someone say it is wickedness?"
"The law is there and I will enforce that law no matter what happens", the Commissioner said.
"I want to emphasize one thing here; on this new Traffic Law, the law has come to stay. Whatever happens, we will enforce it. We are not going to succumb to blackmail from anywhere", the Police boss said adding that Police would enforce the restriction order on okada operators as stipulated in the law.
On the National Sports Festival in the State coming up in November, the Commissioner said all the venues of the Games have been secured by the Police and assured all those coming for the Games of the security of their lives and belongings.
"For the Games, the venues are well covered, well secured. We have all things in place to take care. They are well secured; people will come here and do the Games and go back without any incident", the Commissioner said.
Assuring Lagosians of adequate security during the Eid-El-Kabir festivities, Manko declared, "We know all the Eid Praying Grounds and they are all fully covered and secure. The beaches are where people go for recreation after the Eid prayers. We have also secured the beaches. In fact, we have covered the whole State; people should be free to celebrate the Eid-El-Kabir without fear".
With the Police Commissioner at the briefing were the Commander, 9 Brigade, Ikeja Cantonment, Brigadier General Pat Akem, Commanding Officer NNS Beecroft, Apapa, Navy Commodore Martins Njoku, representative of the Commander 435 Base Services Group, Nigerian Airforce, Group Captain Fola Odewole and Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Security, Major Tunde Panox (rtd).
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