Security: Lagos State Considers Amnesty For Cultists In The State
Lagos State Government says it is set to provide amnesty for cultists and people of criminal tendencies in the state.
The State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made this known while briefing journalists after the State Security Council meeting on Tuesday in Alausa, Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu said that the amnesty would help cultists and criminals to turn a new leaf and integrate them back into the society.
He said: “We will be coming up very shortly, hopefully before the end of the year, to provide amnesty for cultists and people of criminal tendencies.
“The Security Council feels that we can open up a period of amnesty for them to come forward and the state government will be able to come up with initiatives that can make them turn new leaf and desist from their acts.”
The governor said that the activities of ”Operation Crocodile Smile IV”, aimed at flushing out criminal elements, was a welcome development.
He said that the exercise, led by Nigerian Army, was to ensure that the state continued to remain safe and secure.
”There might be a lot more movement of military personnel around the state; law abiding people should not have any cause to worry.
“It is also an operation that would help to flush out criminal tendencies all around the state,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu decried the indiscriminate parking of articulated vehicles on the roads, under the bridges as well as power lines, posing grievous security challenges.
He warned truck owners to desist from such indiscriminate parking or they would be punished.
“We are also using this medium again, to reemphasise our Executive Order around one-way, as one-way menace is a serious security concern for us.
“People have used it not only to perpetrate illegal things, but they also caused injury and accident for people.
“So the enforcement will continue to be aggressively followed through and arrests and forfeiture will continue to happen.
“If you are caught or if you are arrested for passing one-way, not only will the full law be marched against you; you might also forfeit both the vehicle or whatever means that have been found to be facing one-way.
“We will not condone it and all the security operatives have been enjoined again that they go out and enforce control on our roads,” the governor said.
He also said that there was the need for residents who wanted to organise activities such as street carnivals and parades during the period of festivities to get proper permit or approval, so that they would be well-guided and protected.
Sanwo-Olu urged Community Development Associations to also ensure that street gates were manned by security personnel at night for the protection of lives and property.
He said that security agencies would work with public works as well as others on traffic management to ease movement.