BY evelyn usman & Victor akpa-fresh
Governor Babatunde  Fashola of Lagos State, yesterday, stated that any attempt by intruders to threaten security  on the land, sea or air in the state would be met by stiff resistance, saying the state would not condone any act of criminality.

The Governor, who spoke during the launch of six gun boats to the Marine Police Department of the Lagos State Police Command, said in order to fight the trend, the state government had invested so much in crime prevention.

The six gun boats procured by the Federal Government to combat crime in the water ways , according to Fashola, would “compliment the existing capacity of our state Command to protect our water-ways and allow them to remain viable to what God and nature intended them for.

“Let me emphase again that our land is prosperous for business and so are our waterways. Anybody who threatens our peace, who threatens security on our land and on our waterways, threatens our livelyhood and we will fight back. We will fight very hard in the way that we have been doing and in the way that we will continue to do more”.

Asserting that the safety of the waterways was of paramount importance to the state, he pledged his government readiness to work with  with the Lagos State Police command and other  security agencies, informing of concluded plans to add to the existing gun boats.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Hafiz Ringim noted that for business to strive  in a mega city like Lagos, considering its overwhelming population, the issue of security must be treated holistically. The need for the procurement of additional gun boats to the existing ones, he informed ,was  reached after  a tour of NNPC facilities in in January 2011.

Noting that a lot of criminal activities had been recorded in most riverine areas in Lagos, the IG however, expressed optimism that with the arrival of the gun boats, adequate security would be provided around government and private facilities, particularly those around Epe, Marina and Badagry areas.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Yusuf  Alkali informed that the Marine department of the Nigeria Police established in 1891 was unable to tackle with the crime rates on the waterways , following activities of militants from the Niger .

“The Lagos State Police Command has witnessed a gradual deterioration in security within the creeks and waterways around Lagos.

Hoodlums on realizing the danger involved in attacking on land , quickly found the waterways  a safe haven for attack and escape. Regrettably the Marine Police department found itself helpless owing to the dearth of essential facilities for the job such as boats, arms, ammunition and other logistic supports”

Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN,  has also called for decentralisation of the Police Command structure in Lagos State to create more Area Commands in order to provide adequate security for the growing population in the state.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, while playing host to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, who was in the state to commission six police patrol gun boats, said the present structure was no longer adequate to provide security in some areas of the state as those areas have grown over the years both in terms of population and investments.

He said such areas include Epe, Badagry and Ikorodu, which, according to him, have become bustling towns with ever increasing population and economic activities as well as existing investment opportunities.

Pointing out that the existing area commands have become too small to adequately provide security for the areas under their command, the Governor declared, “I think the time has come to create more area commands.

“For instance, we are administering Badagry from FESTAC. Ikorodu is a busy bustling town and I think it deserves another area command of its own and so is Epe.”

Governor Fashola pledged that his administration will provide infrastructure to accommodate the new area commands saying, “We are ready to work to provide infrastructure to set them up if approved”.

Commending the Nigerian Police Force for maintaining the peace during the last General Elections, Governor Fashola, however, charged the security agencies to hasten investigations on those alleged to have attempted to disrupt the exercise in anyway in order to bring them to justice.

“It is as well to say that, regarding the last General Elections, the work of the police is not yet finished. A lot of people were apprehended while trying to interfere with our elections and if we must demonstrate that we truly mean what we are saying about cleaning our electoral system, by the time investigations are concluded, those people must be charged to court to ensure that justice is completely done concerning our electoral process”, the Governor said.

According to him, “Lagos State is taking the lead here. We have already compiled the list of those involved in electoral malpractices during the exercise and investigations are going on; soon we will be collaborating with the appropriate team of experts to bring these people to justice”