At least, 25 police formations were razed and five others vandalised in Lagos during the violence that trailed the #ENDSARS protests last week, findings by The Nation has shown.
The number comprises 14 divisions, three commands and three barracks.
The Police Command however, said at the weekend it had started taking stock of the damages it suffered, including the exact number of its men and officers killed and injured during the violence.
Hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful #ENDSARS went on a looting and destruction spree across the state immediately after the government imposed a curfew on the state.
Reports had it that 40 policemen were injured and a yet-to-be ascertained number killed.
Nineteen of the reported injured cops were operatives of the state’s Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
Police sources told our correspondent that the hoodlums did not spare female cops as a handful of them fell victims to their onslaught.
One of them said: “We are mourning. We are in pain. They killed our men, our women, and even injured so many others. A lot of those injured are still in the hospital. It was not a pleasant experience.
“They burnt 14 police divisions, three area commands and also attacked other police formations. They carted away arms and ammunition. It is a very discouraging experience.”
Another source, who told The Nation that some hoodlums were in their custody, added that 16 firearms have also been recovered
He added that plans were underway to ensure that all guns and ammunition looted from the burnt and vandalised formations were retrieved and the suspects prosecuted.
The state government had said that 229 arrested suspects whose case files were being evaluated for possible prosecution for arson, murder, stealing, malicious damage of property, assault, among others.
The spokesman for the command, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, told The Nation that the command was still compiling its losses.
Adejobi dismissed earlier reports that a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was murdered in Lagos.
He also described as false, claims that the police contracted members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) to protect its formations from being attacked
But he was quick to add that the presence of the OPC men at some formations was a part of the benefit of community policing. (The Nation)
