Ambode seeks redeployment of cops over ‘unauthorised raid’

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has petitioned the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, seeking the redeployment of some cops attached to the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences Unit.

The request came in the wake of last Friday’s raid in some parts of the state by some officers, leading to ‘manhandling and arrest of innocent citizens.’

In a statement yesterday by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said the governor had sought the immediate redeployment of several of the taskforce officers and possibly from the state over what he called “unacceptable conduct.”

The release stated that the request became necessary in order to avert reoccurrence of “last weekend’s unauthorised raid and indiscriminate arrest of citizens who were out to have fun on Friday night.”

According to Ayorinde, preliminary investigation showed that the raid was carried out in cahoots with the taskforce’s second-in-command, Superintendent of Police (SP) Taiwo Adeoluwa without approval from the chairman, SP Saheed Olayinka Egbeyemi.

“The conduct of the affected officers is not in tandem with the vision of Lagos State government and is, therefore, condemnable. Their conduct is also unbecoming of officers who are expected to protect the citizenry and ensure that citizens and visitors find every part of the state safe and conducive enough not only on Friday nights but every day,” he noted.

The commissioner added that Ambode’s massive investment in security and the Light Up Lagos project was meant to create a twenty-four hour a day economy that encourages businesses to thrive. He warned that the government would not fold its arms and watch any overzealous officers derail the vision.