AIG Ari Mohammed Visits Lagos State Police Command and Decorates Newly Promoted Officers

••• Commend Lagos State Police Personnel’s Attitude Toward Discipline

By People’s Voice Nigeria | News

In a visit to the Lagos State Police Command, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Command, Onikan, AIG Ari Mohammed Ali, urged all senior officers of the Lagos State Police Command to take discipline as a priority and make attitudinal changes that would reposition the police in the eyes of the public.

Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2 Command, Onikan, AIG Ari Mohammed Ali

Ali, who gave the admonition on Monday at the Police Officers’ Mess in Ikeja while addressing Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) during his maiden visit to the Command, commended police personnel’s attitude towards discipline in the state compared to other states.

 
According to Him, “Discipline has eroded, and there must be re-orientation to attitudinal change to avoid a collapse of the force. Therefore, we must key into the Inspector General of Police, IGP Olukayode Egbetokun’s agenda to enforce discipline.”

However, he commended officers and men of the command for their dexterity and hard work, which have paid off in the sundry arrests of criminals in every nook and cranny of the state.

While responding to a journalist’s question on mitigating the audaciousness of terrorists who cash in on festive moments to launch insipid attacks, AIG Ali said that the Nigerian Police under his areas of responsibility are up to the task.

“We are proactive and don’t believe in reactive policing. Before any terrorist would raise its ugly head and wreck havoc in Lagos, we would have gotten information about them and frustrated their intentions.

While welcoming AIG Ali to the Command, CP Idowu Owohunwa reminded him that the template he set as DCP Operations is indelible and has served as a reservoir they are referencing in their policing operations.

CP Idowu Owohunwa, Lagos State Commissioner of Police.

Based on that, he was elicited to remark that the government has been able to stabilize internal security in Lagos despite some challenges in security management.

While commending officers and men of the command, CP Owohunwa reiterated that officers have displayed exemplary conduct in terms of dynamics, understanding, and professionalism.

However, he added that despite the huge successes achieved, there are three critical areas of security challenges the command is grappling with. These include Cultism, trafficking in firearms, gender violence, and domestic violence.

He noted that with strategic reengineering by the tactical unit, given their new orientation, they tackled them headlong.

“I am happy to disclose that between February and June 2023, we have arrested 120 cult members and recovered 60 firearms. I call on those cultists to either relocate or vacate the state, as we wouldn’t allow them to fester.

On a daily basis, firearms are recovered. What are the sources of these firearms? Is it because of boundaries with neighbouring countries or where the state is located?” Owohunwa asked rhetorically.

However, he assured that under his command, apart from mopping up those illicit arms, he would ensure that they got to the depths of the sources with a view to curbing proliferation.

On checking the menace of gender and domestic violence, the command is reengineering its gender unit and working in collaboration with the office of the first lady to checkmate such malfeasances, just as the command is training more men and making provisions for facilities for victims.

CP Owohunwa used the opportunity to appeal to AIG Ali to come to the aid of the command in the area of logistic needs and training.

“We have a need for training to enhance our capacity, especially as crime is very dynamic, which has put more pressure on the police.

During the visit, AIG Ari Mohammed Ali lectured the senior officers on various aspects of policing and the interdiction of criminals. Some deserving Area Commanders who were recently elevated to their next rank were decorated with their new rank badges.

Among them were ACP Omole Olu and AA Shika, who were decorated with the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police, and Gbenga Ogunsakin, who got the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police.