By Florencemary Nwabueze
Following growing outcry from residents over rising criminal activities, the Lagos State Police Command has inaugurated a new tactical security outfit, the ‘Command Sweepers Squad,’ to tackle crime and restore public confidence in the Ikorodu axis.
According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, the commissioner of Police Tijani Fatai unveiled the squad on Monday as a temporary intervention force designed to address the increasing incidents of criminality in Ikorodu and its adjoining communities.
The squad is not a conventional police unit but a multi-agency task force. It draws its personnel from the Command’s Tactical Teams, the Rapid Response Squad-RRS, the Eko Strike Force, three Police Mobile Force units (2 PMF, 22 PMF, and 63 PMF), as well as other security agencies and the Civilian Joint Task Force-CJTF.
“The squad is strategically situated in Ijede to ensure swift deployment and easy access to all parts of Ikorodu and adjoining communities for affective crime prevention and rapid response operation.” The statement reads
In a significant boost to its operational capacity, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund-LSSTF has equipped the squad with patrol vehicles and three Armored Personnel Carriers-APCs.
The squad has already been deployed to identified black spots and criminal hideouts. Their mandate includes intelligence-led operations, raids, stop-and-search duties, and confidence-building patrols.
CP Tijani assured residence that: “the operation the operation will be conducted professionally and in line with the rule of law”, while urging residents to remain vigilant and support the command with timely and credible information through any of its emergency lines.