Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, yesterday ordered a joint security patrol to deal with miscreants and armed gangs attacking innocent citizens.
The governor gave the order, following the activities of the armed gangs who have been going from street to street attacking people and dispossessing them of their money and other valuables.
He also said the state government will commence remittance of cash transfer to 250,000 indigent youths.
This is even as the Commissioner for Health, Prof Akin Abayomi, disclosed that the state officials have identified 119 people who showed symptoms of Coronavirus during community testing.
Sanwo-Olu, who announced the measure while briefing State House correspondents after long hours of closed door emergency security meeting with heads of security agencies in the state, said: โThe seeming rise in unrest in the metropolis and boundary communities is very apt that we have just concluded an emergency Security Council meeting this afternoon, in which all the various heads of the stateโs security agencies were present.
โAt this meeting, we discussed the increasing reports of crime and criminality across the metropolis as cultists, miscreants and other criminals have sought to take advantage of the lockdown to unleash havoc on our people.
One of our key responsibilities as an administration is the safety and security of the lives and properties of all citizens, and we will not abandon this responsibility at any time. There is no room whatsoever in Lagos State for criminal gangs or miscreants of any kind.
โIn fact, over 100 suspects have been arrested in the last 72 hours on account of disturbances. All the suspects have accordingly been charged to court.
โLet me assure you that those miscreants that you may have seen in the videos going viral are not hungry people; they are not acting on the basis of hunger. They are opportunistic criminals, and they will be treated as such by the law enforcement agencies.
โWe have been in close and constant communication with the Federal Government on this issue, and the I.G of Police has deployed a Deputy Inspector General of Police, who is a seasoned crime fighter, to Lagos as our Intervention Squad Coordinator to help devise and superintend over a superior strategy to curtail and stem the perceived and actual threat of violence.
โWith this revised strategy, you will see an increase in mobile police deployment in all trouble spots in the metropolis; as well as the police intensifying their patrols around residential areas, boundary communities, and other critical areas of activities during this lockdown period.โ
This will also be carried out in conjunction with other security agencies โ Army; Navy; Airforce and Directorate of State Security Service.โ
The governor, who based his address on four major head topics: Medical update, federal government lockdown directive; Insecurity and palliatives, noted that โwe are facing tough and uncertain times.โ
Speaking on the medical side, Sanwo-Olu said, โFrom April 4, 2020, we have seen an increase in the total number of confirmed cases nationwide. Lagos continues to lead with the highest number of confirmed cases with increase from 109 to 198 as at todayโs briefing. The number of persons who have died has also sadly risen marginally, from 1 to 7.
โBut we have also seen a remarkable number of recovered persons, 61 so far; with three transfers and two evacuations, bringing the total number of active cases to 109. What this shows is that while our numbers are definitely rising on the curve, we are also maintaining a 25-30% discharge rate of our active cases which unequivocally shows that our medical interventions and management of the cases are working.
โIn fact, today, we are discharging 9 patients โ 3 females and 6 males, who have tested negative in two consecutive test readings. This brings the total number of discharged cases to 70.โ
Besides, the government said the state government was boosting the capacity of our isolation centers to take up more patients. Overall, across all our isolation centres in Yaba, Onikan and LUTH, we have the capacity to admit 275 patients. โBy next week, when we open the Isolation centers at Landmark and Gbagada General Hospital, we will have the capacity for an additional 220 beds, including 20 intensive care units.
โIn the last one week, we also commenced an active search for cases in communities across the state, all with a view to effectively track and trace community transmitted cases. This is important for us to do as we have seen a trend of community transmission in the number of recently confirmed cases, and with the population density of the state being what it is, it is thus imperative that we begin this next phase of identifying and managing new cases as quickly as possible.
โAlso, note that they will not ask you for any money. COVID-19 testing and treatment is free and will remain so. Do not give any information relating to your banking or financial details to anyone, under any guise; and very importantly, do not let anybody into your home without seeing valid identification and a letter from the Local Government Area.
