Return to Lagos roads, Sanwo-Olu begs police

• Says, we feel your absence
• Unfolds new welfare package, modern police stations, life insurance

Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has pleaded with the police to return to the roads to restore sanity to the nation’s economic capital’s highways, saying Lagosians feel the absence of the police.

Many people have in the last few days been continuously trapped in gridlock for hours as traffic police and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority officers stay away from major traffic points, either for fear of being attacked by hoodlums or protesting the killing of some of their colleagues and burning of a number of their police stations during last week’s unrest that followed the #EndSARS protest.

While the gridlock persists, some transport union members and other volunteer battle to free the roads of the heavy traffic.

And to encourage the police to return, Governor Sanwo-Olu has unveiled a new welfare package that will engender a lease of life for serving police and families of the recently killed cops while on duty.

He said the new welfare package including a life insurance cover, modern working environment and health facilities would serve as a morale booster for those still in service and stressed that their absence on the Lagos roads was felt.

The governor said all policemen killed in the violence resulting from the nationwide protests against police brutality will not die in vain, adding that their children would be given scholarship awards to ensure that they would not suffer unduly as a result of the demise of their fathers.

Sanwo-Olu has therefore directed the Lagos State Scholarship Board to award scholarships to the children to the university level.

Twenty-nine Divisional Police Stations and 17 police posts were razed by hoodlums, who disguised as protesters.

Also, six police officers were lynched, 36 critically injured, while 71 police operational vehicles were torched.

The governor made the offer when he visited the Lagos Police Command Headquarters in Ikeja.

He said the state government would also be compensating family members of the officers killed in the violence and take care of the burial arrangement of the slain officers, adding that the state would be picking up the hospital bills of those injured in the mayhem.

He said the measures were meant to boost the morale of officers, following the demoralising events of the past week in which police officers and their stations were targeted by hoodlums.

Sanwo-Olu said the statutory duties of the police could not be wished away because of the actions of a few bad eggs.

He said the state must put the event of the past week behind it and move on to restore peace.

To achieve this, police officers, he said, must regain their confidence.

He said “Commissioner of Police has come forward with a number of requests, which we will need to address to boost the morale of officers after last week’s event. As your governor, I have come here to take full responsibility for the loss you have suffered in terms of logistics. From tomorrow (Thursday), we will start implementing these requests.

“Through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), we will be replacing the police operational vehicles burnt in the violence. We have a bigger plan for all the police stations burnt down. We will look for the funds and build befitting stations that will set the standard of what police stations should be.

“The most important request is to offer scholarship to the children of officers that died. I have directed the Lagos State Scholarship Board under the Special Adviser on Education to immediately award scholarship to the children of the slain officers.”

The governor directed the Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr Rasaq Balogun, to establish the modality with the police leadership in the state.

The governor also approved the request to upgrade Police Cottage Hospital in Ikeja, directing the Commissioner for Health to inspect the facility for the required upgrade.

In addition to donating two 150KVa generating sets to the police, Sanwo-Olu said the command headquarters would be connected to the state’s Independent Power Project (IPP) for constant power supply.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, said the manner with which the slain officers were murdered brought down morale in the command.

He said the police officers remained committed to their statutory responsibilities, thanking the governor for approving their requests.

The governor’s gesture, the police boss said, would restore confidence in the state’s police workforce.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police in charge of Research and Planning, Leye Oyebade, said the police took away valuable lessons from the EndSARS protest, noting that there was no better time to fully implement the community policing than now.

He said the protest had ended and it was time for the police to win back citizens’ confidence and trust.

“As police officers, we must now go back to the drawing board and cultivate the goodwill of the communities in which we operate. I’m particularly charging divisional police headquarters to devise strategies tailored toward your local realities and employ digital tools,” he said.