By KUNLE KALEJAYE

Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, yesterday, said that the state government would begin the prosecution of cases of suspected kidnappers arrested in the state May 16.

Lamenting the upsurge in kidnapping cases in the state, Ipaye said the government would leave no stone unturned to send a strong signal to would-be kidnappers that Lagos State had zero tolerance for criminals.

He spoke at the monthly briefing by his ministry on criminal justice administration in the state.

Ipaye, who did not disclose the names of those so far arrested, said he would personally take charge of the prosecution of the suspects due to the concern government had for the security of the residents.

He also said although the government was not happy over the spate of kidnap cases in the state, he was happy that the suspects were usually apprehended on each occasion.

He said Lagosians must be cautious on the type of company they usually keep, to avoid unwarranted cases of kidnap.

He said: “I want to assure the public that Lagos State is one place where kidnappers are actually arrested.

“We are giving the police and all the other security agencies full support and this is yielding results.

“In the next few days, you will see me in court with the first set of persons accused of kidnapping and this will be a continuous exercise.”

On the activities of his ministry in the last few months, Ipaye said the office of the Director for Public Prosecution, DPP, concluded and obtained judgments in 13 cases between January and March this year.

He said that the court sentenced two of the defendants to death, discharged and acquitted five while the remaining six were sentenced to prison terms ranging between five and 25years.

According to the commissioner in furtherance of the commitment of the government to promote rule of law and order, the Office of the Public Defender, OPD, Citizens Mediation Centre, CMC, Directorate for Citizens’ Right, DCR, and Public Advice Centre, PAC, had continued to offer free and qualitative legal service to the people of the state.