Security of lives and property
of the citizenry is the constitutional responsibility of the
government which must be ensured and ascertained to engender safety.
So it behooves on every responsible and responsive government to
ensure it provision.
When the former governor of Lagos State , Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
inaugurated the Rapid Response Squad (RRS), a security outfit of the
state government to tackle head long, the menace of armed robbery
and other related crimes, it was greeted with huge resistance by
members of the opposition parties, principally the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
Tinubu, being a strong advocate for the creation of state police,
was in the vanguard for its actualization throughout his eight year
tenure and has remained unrepentant even while out of office.
Inspite of the good intention of the project, oppositions viewed it
from its perspective that it might be used against them by the
Tinubu administration as a tool of intimidation, oppression and
suppression.
Subsequently, unfolding events proved them wrong, as the outfit
turned out to be the salvaging rescuer the state has been longing
for in the area of security of lives and property.
Hitherto, similar outfit has been in existence in the state
introduced by Tinubu’s predecessor, Brig Gen. Buba Marwa, code named
“Operation Sweep” , a new dimension was launched into its operations
under the leadership of Mr. Hakeem Odumosu,a superintendent of
Police (SP), making it more vibrant and responsive. He was however
relived of the post due to a political ball game between the state
and the federal government.
But the best of the outfit was yet to manifest not until the
assumption of office by Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) as the
governor of the state, who during his inaugural speech promised
residents that the issue of safety of live and property will form
one of the major agenda of his administration.
In actualization of his promise, the dynamic, foresight, purposeful
and intelligent governor, through a public and private partnership
scheme injected new lives into the outfit, making it more vibrant,
responsive and modern in its outlook to compare favourably with its
pears across the globe.
Following descript investigation and reports, Hakeem Odumosu, now a
Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), was discovered to be the most
suitable to head the outfit and he was immediately recalled,
following request by the state government.
In a jiffy, the outfit was re-invigorated and re-juvenated by the
state government, providing it with over 200 Hilux Patrol vehicles,
modern communication gadgets and other necessary tools to enhance
its efficient and effective performance.
In addition, a special welfare package which includes a mouth
watering allowance was initiated for its operatives, who were also
provided with two new pears of uniforms and boots each.
All the tonic the operatives needed to perform could be traced to a
statement in the acceptance speech of the then State Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, during the donation ceremony of the
equipment to the State Police Command by the governor.
Abubakar who acknowledged that the large consignment was the first
of its kind by any governor in the country said “The donation of
these equipment signals the end of the reigns of armed robbers in
the state, this is a warning that they should either leave the trade
or leave the state because they will be nabbed”.
The Hakeem Odumosu led outfit has no reason to fail in the daunting
task having been fortified and it immediately swung into action,
assuring residents that it has what it takes to quash arm banditry
in the state and make residents sleep with their two eyes closed and
also make it safe for investors.
Consequent upon the proactive measures introduced by Odumosu, a
master degree holder, who has attended various detective courses and
won many laurels, many high profile robbery attacks have been foiled
by the operatives, with various category of arms and ammunition
recovered from bandits.
According to statistics, over 52 robbery attacks were foiled and 100
armed robbery suspects were apprehended by the RRS operatives as at
September, 2007, including the recovery of 75 arms and ammunitions.
Though, official figure could not be obtained as at the time of
compiling the report, investigation however revealed that the outfit
has doubled it performances, earning it accolade from hitherto
skeptical residents.
The State government while giving the outfit a pass mark, commended
it, saying it has drastically brought crime rate in the state,
particularly violence to a bearable level.
Mr. Bamidele Opeyemi, the State Commissioner for Information and
Strategy, who gave the commendation during an interactive session
with some foreign investors, said the operations of the RRS has
assisted in no small measure in the securing of lives and property
of residents, while assuring the investors that their investment is
safe in the state.
A crime analyst and senior crime correspondent, Mr. Raheem Ibrahim
while assessing the performance of the outfit said it has lived up
to expectation, particularly in the area of rapid response to
distress calls.
Noting that there is still room for improvement, Ibrahim cautioned
the operatives against retrogression and compromising in their
performance, even as he urged Odumosu to educate the operatives on
the need to be civil and humane with non- criminal members of the
society.
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