Lagos State Police Command has expressed worry over the fabrication of various types of firearms, which include local and foreign pistols, AK-47 and other assault rifles in Lagos.

This was disclosed by the command boss, Idowu Owohunwa, during the acting Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun’s tour of duty to Lagos, yesterday.

Owohunwa, who noted that Lagos State presented distinctive security challenges on account of its demography and socio-economic interplays, said its internal security space in recent times had been laced with the threats of cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder and sexual and gender-based violence.

He said the command was also confronted with the challenge of dissecting and dealing with the thin line between the civil and criminal dynamics of land disputes, which are also prevalent in the state.

Crime profile of the state, according to him, “is further accentuated by the prevalence of illegal firearms proliferation, and illicit drug abuse and trafficking.

“Hardly does a day passes by without the ever vigilant operatives of the command recovering weapons and illicit drugs of various descriptions at stop and search points, raids of black spots, and other operational engagements with all such recoveries linked to the perfection of crimes across the State.

“Most worrisome in all these is a noticeable trend that indicates an increasing local expertise in the fabrication of various types of firearms including replicas of foreign made pistols, AK47 and other assault rifles.

“This trend, coupled with the threat of cultism, projects a potent danger to the security space of Lagos State.”

“Also of routine concern is the traffic gridlock and the attendant occasional traffic robberies, which are compounded by on-going road projects across the state including, in particular, the Lagos-Ibadan highway.”

He hinted that in cognizance of the situation, the command was planning to organise a conference soon, with the intent to mainstream the discourse on cultism and violent crimes in Lagos, as well as to galvanise all strategic stakeholders and the different levels of governance in the state to the evolving threat.

Vanguard