By Adepote Arowojobe
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Zubairu Muazu, on Monday paraded 202 people, suspected of involvement in armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and other related crimes in Lagos State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the parading of the suspects is part of a renewed crackdown on criminals in the state, tagged “Operation Crush’’.
Briefing newsmen at the Ikorodu Police Divisional Headquarters at Igbogbo in Ikorodu, Muazu said the police had also recovered fire arms, cutlasses, phones and charms from the suspects.
“The command has painstakingly put in place measures to reclaim the destiny of our youths, who have chosen the paths of crime by engaging in various cult activities.
“Cultism is evil and a crime against the collective will of the people. When cultism thrives, surely other heinous crimes like murder, rape, robbery and the rest will thrive too.
“Defeating cultism will therefore, mean defeating all heinous crimes in the state as virtually every major crime recorded in the state has a link to cultism.
“Thus the special operation we are flagging off today is code-named, Operation Crush, aimed at ending cultism and gangsterism. It will be directly under my command.”
The commissioner said that he had not relented in fighting crimes since he assumed office last February, urging Lagos residents to join hands to ride the state of criminals.
He said that the 202 people arrested for various crimes would soon be charged to court.
Muazu said the command would adopt community policing, embark on sensitisation programme in collaboration with police community relations committees and other stakeholders in schools, neighbourhoods and the media.
Muazu named some criminal groups identified in the state as Eiye and Aiye confraternities, One Million Boys at Ajegunle and Fadeyi Boys at the Fadeyi area on the Lagos Mainland.
He named others as Akala Boys at Muslim, Nokia Group at PalmGroove and Awawa Boys at Dopemu in Agege, Ogba and Iyana Ipaja.
NAN recalls that a battle of supremacy among the cult groups in Ikorodu recently, claimed the lives of a couple, leading to the arrest of one Yusuf Omidele, the leader of the elders-in-council of the Eiye Confraternity.
