Lagos traditional ruler canvasses establishment of community police to curb insecurity

The traditional ruler of Otumara community in the Lagos Mainland of Lagos State, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye, has called for the establishment of community police to curb insecurity in the state and Nigeria at large.

The monarch made the call following the arrest of some suspected robbers by some officials of Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA) in his community.

The LNSA officials led by Sikiru Olaiya also known as ‘50 cent’ arrested four robbery suspects, all males, ages 18 and 22 for dispossessing unsuspecting residents in the community of their valuables with toy guns.

Kalejaiye explained, “The suspects were arrested in Otumara following a complaint of phone theft lodged by a member of the community.

“The LNSA officials swung into action. They visited the residence of the suspects where they recovered three ATM cards, ID cards, phones and toy guns hidden in the hole of the fence outside their residence.”

While commending the officials of the LNSA for the arrest, the monarch also make a case for the establishment of community police citing the successes recorded by LNSA officials as an example.

According to him, “The successes recorded by the LNSA officials point to the fact that community policing are the solution to the challenges of insecurity in the country.

“By community policing, I meant the combine efforts of local police force to patrolling streets within the community. Unlike state police that have state-wide functions to contend with, community police officers entail increasing presence of officers on the streets and in the community.

“They are familiar faces within the community. They can easily identify strange faces and bust crime before it is perpetrated. In community policing, the local police play an active role in neighbourhood watch as is being done by officials of the LNSA with the arrest of the four suspected robbers in Otumara community.

“Before this day, we have had issues with cultism and robbery in Otumara but since I built a station for LNSA officers within the community where they resume and patrol the community 24/7, cultism and robbery have been eradicated in Otumara.

“Also, while growing up in Ijebu-ode, we heard of local hunters patrolling forest. They call them forest rangers. They patrol our forest for possible threat to security of lives and properties. This needs to be replicated to curb kidnapping and other crimes.

“The solution to insecurity lies with us and that is community policing.”