Lagos State government has done a lot for the Nigeria Police Force, especially through the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) established in 2007. Virtually all sections of the Lagos State Police Command — Mobile Police, Marine Police, Mounted Police, Rapid Response Squad (RRS), etc. have sipped and are still sipping from the state’s well of generosity. In 2021 alone, the state government spent a whopping N3 billion to equip the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), in its quest to ensure the safety and security of Lagosians.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed this at the 15th Town Hall Meeting on Security organised by LSSTF at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, with the theme, “Re-conceptualising Safety and Security In Lagos State.” He said the government would continue to play a leading role to secure the state adding that it had demonstrated the commitment in the past and would remain resolute in its quest to enhance peace and security throughout Lagos State.

It is in keeping with this tradition that the government decided to take the support for the police force a notch higher by collaborating with it in rebuilding, regenerating and remodelling 25 dilapidated barracks in the state. Force spokesman, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the essence of the new barracks is to give officers and men befitting accommodation, and that it is an initiative of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba. Such projects, he said, had started in some states where some houses had since been inaugurated.

According to Adejobi, barracks to be rehabilitated in Lagos include Adekunle, Agege, Alausa, Area F, Bar-Beach, Bourdillon, Falomo, Federal Highway Patrol, MTX Highway and Ijeh Police Barracks. Others are Ijora, SQ MTX Ijora, SQ MTX Iponri, K 9 Police Barracks, Kam Salem, SQ MTX McCarthy, Mopol 2 Keffi, Mounted Troops, Obalende Barracks, Police Officers’ Mess Obalende and Women Barracks, among others.

This is a commendable initiative. That some houses under it had even been inaugurated in some states make it much more so. Police barracks in the country are about the worst of all barracks in the country. Many of them were built several decades ago and they are hardly well maintained. They have therefore become accidents waiting to happen. Indeed, some of them had collapsed in Lagos and Ibadan. We do not have to wait until more barracks give way, with the possible loss of lives and property, before doing something about the situation. As a matter of fact, the Lagos State Building Control Agency, LASBCA, had certified some of these barracks in the state as unfit for habitation.

It is also heartwarming that the police force seems to have made adequate arrangement for the officers and men to be affected by the exercise. They were expected to start vacating their apartments from May 1, 2023, after they would have been mobilised to seek alternative accommodation, pending the conclusion of the projects, hopefully in two years. Where the projects extend beyond two years, more money would be provided for the personnel to take care of the extended period. On paper, everything about the arrangements seems okay. We however implore the police to scrupulously adhere to the laid-down arrangements.

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