By ALEX OLISE
The route from Mile 2 leading to Agboju-Alakija before Barracks and Volkswagen Bus Stop in Lagos, are areas that have been dreaded by road users for the past 30 years due to incessant cases of robbery attacks.
These criminals unleash terror attacks and have sent many innocent Nigerians and visitors to their untimely graves, with many others losing their goods and hard-earned money.
The Badagry Road has been on the intelligence books of the Nigerian Police Force, as one of the most dreaded routes used by cross-border robbers to come into Lagos, snatch exotic cars and use the same route to flee back to Cotonou, the Benin Republic capital.
For many years, this went on until the former Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, now a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Hakeem Odumosu, on the assumption of office, met with the Nigerian military, which also had a large facility in the route and they decided to work as a team to deal with the criminals and make the route safe for both Lagos residents and visitors to the country.
The decision was necessary because it is the only route that links Benin Republic, Ghana, Togo and other Francophone countries that frequently come into Lagos to carry out business transactions.
CP Odumosu then decided to change some positions by appointing a gallant operational officer, Smith Olanrewaju, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), to be the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Onireke Division, a station very close to Barracks Bus-Stop, along the Mile Two Expressway.
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Having in mind the huge security task along the route and what to do to get tangible results the DPO, CSP Olanrewaju chose one of the most active officers, Inspector Amos Augustine, to be the Station Officer (S/O), Onireke Division.
Now, the job began before the end of 2021, and no fewer than 26 armed robbers were nabbed along the route while attacking road users at various black spots.
In one of the raids, the police arrested five suspects who were robbing a businessman and recovered one English-made pump action from the suspects. The suspects were then taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, where they were later charged to court and remanded at the Kirikiri Maximum prison to date.
The Trumpet visited the dreaded areas during the week and discovered it is a new dawn, as the military and police have continued to work in synergy with all the police divisions in the area, which led to the huge breakthrough recorded, making gangsters to stop using the route as a base for carrying out their nefarious acts.
A trader in the area, Alhaji Musa Kareem, who spoke with The Trumpet about his experience said, “I thank God for the Police and Army along this route. Since the two security agencies started working together, all the criminals have fled, to avoid being killed because the policemen and soldiers do not tolerate armed robbers and criminals.
Musa also commended the current Lagos Commissioner of Police (CP), Abiodun Alabi, who recently embarked on a familiarisation visit to the stations along the route to boost their morale in tackling security challenges in line with the vision of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba-Usman.
