Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has finally opened up on why Lagos state does not have Amotekun like other South-West states.
In an interview on Channels Television, Sanwo-Olu noted that Lagos state has over 7,000 neighbourhood watch personnel who are doing exactly the same thing Amotekun operatives are doing.
He added that apart from community policing, the LNSC also engage in border patrol.
Sanwo-Olu said;
“So it’s just a name change in the case of Lagos. I appreciate what my colleague governors are doing, and they also appreciate the peculiar nature of Lagos.
“I have got over 7,000 neighbourhood watch personnel in Lagos, who are doing exactly the same thing that we have Amotekun doing.
“They are there at the border post giving us daily monitoring in their localities and feeding it back to the central. They are the ones feeding us with information. But they cannot carry arms and prosecute people.
“The borders that I have in Lagos are outside of the Atlantic Ocean is Ogun state.”
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VIDEO: Sanwo-Olu Explains Why Lagos State Does Not Have Amotekun pic.twitter.com/FnUvwg9iJ1
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The Lagos governor during the interview also said Nigeria should make state police happen, noting that it is long overdue.
He said: “It is long overdue, we should make it happen. In fact, that is one of the critical things that I believe will help us. It has been said over and over again.”
Sanwo-Olu said that governors are frustrated that they cannot take 100 percent charge of the security situation in their respective states.
The Lagos governor believes that once the police outfit is domesticated, it will be easier for officers to effectively tackle crimes in the state since they are already used to their different host communities.
He explained the Lagos State Government has been supporting the Nigeria Police Force in the state with the purchase of vehicles, provision of fuel, and allowances which should be done by the Federal Government.
“The last time, we gave them 1,250 constabularies and we are paying their salaries. We paid for everything – uniform, food, etc. So we are actually incurring those expenses already.
“It is really not going to have any bigger bolt on our numbers because that is what we are doing. But it will help us to know that there are state police. What we will do is that somebody grows up in an area, you will understand that area.
“You will know where Okokomaiko is, you will understand the issues around Ojoko, you will know what the problem is in Lagos Island once it is domesticated,” he said.
