In this interview, the new Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Umar Manko, told The Eagle Online that the security challenges facing the country are surmountable with the cooperation of Nigerians. Excerpts:
What are your plans for the state police command?
My plan for the Lagos State Police Command is not different from the plans of the Inspector General of Police, which is effective policing and zero tolerance to corruption. We have to change our attitude to work by having a cordial relationship with other security agencies. Also, we have to improve on our community policing.
The National Union of Road Transport Workers crisis at Mushin and environs has claimed many lives while property worth millions of naira has been destroyed. What are your plans to stop the crisis in these areas?
We are not going to check only area boys but to check all forms of criminality in this area. We are not going to allow criminals to take control of the state and the NURTW members are not exceptional.
How is the command coping with the removal of checkpoints from the roads as there have been reported cases of car snatching and theft on the highways since the dismounting of these checkpoints across the country?
The IGP has ordered the removal of checkpoints and I would like to reiterate that checkpoints are gone forever. On our part, we have effective patrol on the motorways and snatching and other crime on the highways are pockets of crime we are dealing with. Also, we have introduced motorised patrol system and they are working effectively with the Rapid Response Squad to check crime on the highway.
The state of police barracks in Lagos State is deplorable and needs urgent attention. What are you doing to ensure that your men live in more hygienic conditions?
It is not only accommodation that needs urgent attention as the condition of service generally needs to be urgently considered. We are working with the police hierarchy and the acting IGP to ensure that the barracks are cleaner and better for policemen to live in. It will be wise that we maintain the ones we have since we do not have other ones yet.
There are reports that officers from the State Anti-robbery Squad engage in extra judicial killings. What do you have to say about that?
Policemen are not murderers and they have been trained to protect lives and property and not destroy them. So it Is not true that policemen are killers.
There have been issues of bomb scare in Lagos State. How prepared is the command to tackle terrorism and other violent crimes in the state?
The public should not bother themselves as the Lagos State Police Command is mentally and physically prepared. Nobody can come and disrupt the peace of the state as they have been advised to either repent or relocate. We are not going to reveal our strategies but we are on top of crime in the state.
The Command has stopped parading suspects before journalists. What informed this decision?
More than 2,000 of our policemen have undergone human rights training and we respect the rights of the suspects as well as the victim because if you expose the suspect to the public while investigation is still ongoing, then you have contravened the law, which states that a person is innocent until proven guilty by a competent law court.