By Adebola Adegoke/Franklin Ohaegbu
The Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA), has charged its Corps officers to upgrade their monitoring duties by engaging in regular bicycle patrol to strengthen the community policing efforts of the agency.
Its General Manager, Dr Ifalade Oyekan, gave the charge in Lagos on Monday, while addressing officers during a bicycle patrol drill on the Lagos Island area of the State.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 30 participating officers rode from Oba of Lagos Palace through Idumagbo, Balogun, Marina to Onikan.
NAN also reports that the agency embarked on the bicycle patrol on April 4 in the Surulere area of the State, led by the general manager.
During the April 4 patrol, 50 officers rode through Coker-Aguda, Itire-Ikate and Surulere areas of the state.
Oyekan told NAN that it was part of efforts to strengthen the operations of the officers for effective community policing across the State.
He said the exercise was also aimed at ensuring that officers used the bicycles regularly for community patrol, in addition to foot and vehicle patrol, as was done in the past when the agency was established.
“When LNSA was established, we were known for always riding our bicycles around communities every Tuesday and Thursday.
“But in recent times, we have had people asking and wondering what happened that they don’t see us using bicycles for patrol.
“This is why we are encouraging our officers to put the bicycles to use because it can get to the interior of the communities to monitor events.
“When they do this regularly, members of the community will be reassured of our presence and they will have confidence in us that we are always on patrol,” he said.
Oyekan also disclosed that the agency was planning to hold a cycling competition in honour of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu where participating teams will be drawn from 57 local government areas of the State.
He said the bicycle patrol was also to get the officers physically fit and prepare them ahead of the competition coming up later in the year.
Oyekan assured that Gov. Sanwo-Olu was committed to the safety of lives and property of residents, as evidenced by the security and governance pillar of his administration’s THEMES Agenda.
He, therefore, said that the agency was committed to actualising this mandate through regular community engagement, patrol and intelligence gathering.
He also said that the agency had been at alert in maintaining peace in the communities throughout the pre- and post-election periods.
“We have our officers in all the 57 local government areas of the State and we try our best to maintain peace in the communities.
“Whenever we have our meeting with the community development associations, we are always advocating for peace, oneness and love because we are all one in Lagos State,” he said.
He added that the agency had submitted several intelligence reports of its surveillance on abandoned buildings and vehicles, vandalism, suspected illegal immigrants, beggars and hideouts to the relevant agencies for appropriate action.
“We share intelligence reports with the Nigerian Police Force, Army and Department of State Security, periodically to engender partnership for the effective safeguarding of life and property,” he said.
He called on residents to have confidence in the neighbourhood safety corps and always speak out fast whenever they noticed something unusual, “because security is everybody’s business.” (NAN)
