Owohunwa takes over as new Lagos CP, vows to deal with criminals, others

New Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Idowu Owohunwa, has vowed to rid the state of criminals and their networks.

Owohunwa, who made the promise while taking over from Abiodun Alabi at the command headquarters, GRA, Ikeja on Tuesday, said the command would be civil with law-abiding citizens and respect their rights.

This was in the context of the belief that Lagos was a complex state characterised by thugs as well as criminals hampering public peace.

The new CP said his command would prioritize actions capable of addressing issues impacting seamless police-public trust and partnership in the state, adding he would embrace strategic policing and application of technology to tackle crime in the state.

Owohunwa said: “Having had the privilege of serving in the state at some point in my policing career, and from my vantage position and schedules as Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to different Inspectors General of Police (IGPs), with schedules including monitoring policing issues across the country daily, I can confirm that I have a deep and practical knowledge of the values and expectations of the government and good people of Lagos, particularly in relation to how they expect to be policed.

“I also understand and appreciate well enough the complex dynamics in the task of providing policing leadership for a command with a mandate to police a state that is reputed to be the fifth largest economy in Africa.

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“While Lagos presents a unique security challenge on account of its demography and socio-economic interplays, it also prides itself as the state in which successive governments in the state, particularly the incumbent, have mainstreamed policing and public safety. I know not of any state in this country that dedicates so much resource and situates law enforcement in the front burner in public discourse than Lagos.

“Lagos is unique. My task has been made easy. I will deploy intelligence, ensure the application of technology and strategic policing approach to advance what my predecessor has already achieved. This can be achieved with the cooperation of the citizens.”

Also speaking, the former CP expressed the preparedness of the command for the forthcoming polls, saying an Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) had been set up to ensure safe elections in the state.

“For the forthcoming elections, we have reached an advanced stage in our election security preparations under the Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), headed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and having the police and other security agencies on board. I trust my successor to seamlessly continue with the plans and deliver a safe atmosphere for the elections”, Alabi said.

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