Top 5 LGAs With High Crime Rate In Lagos State

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Despite the fact the police have intensified efforts to fight criminal elements in communities in the various Local governments Areas in Lagos State, there were indications that some LGAs were still leading in the rate of crime in the state.

P.M.EXPRESS investigations revealed the top five local governments in the state where crime rate remained high. Ikorodu local government was ranked as the number one on the list after the investigations.

Findings showed that communities in Ikorodu top the list because of the peculiarity of the crimes being committed there daily. Namely – armed robbery, kidnapping, sea robbery/pirates attack, oil bunkering, cultism, ritual killings, murders and other related crimes.

It was also gathered that due to the high crime rate in the area, recently the security agents comprising the Police and Navy Commands created two security units comprising the Mobile Police unit and Navy patrol team.

The residents said that Ikorodu took the leading position because of the riverine creeks surrounding the area, which made it easily accessible for crimes and escape routes. The relocation of some Lagos residents in the area worsened the situation through population increase which affected the security management in the area.

The second on the list of the  Local Government mentioned was Alimosho for the volatile nature of crimes there. According to the residents, Alimosho is the largest local government in Lagos and even in Nigeria, with a very high population of people to deal with.

The patterns of crime prevalent in Alimosho was listed as vehicle snatching, fraud syndicates, church fraud, armed robbery, burglary, oil bunkering, among others.

It was also noted the area was surrounded by rivers and canals which linked to Ogun State and make it easy for the criminal elements to escape.

The Nigerian Police noted the difficulty in managing security in the area and took certain measures by creating another police command (Area P Command) within the local government in order to manage the crimes in the area effectively.

P.M.EXPRESS investigations also revealed that Badagry and Ojo Local governments shared the third position in crime rate in the State. Some of the communities there were known for kidnapping, rape, fraud syndicate, vehicle snatching, piracy, smuggling and other related crimes.

According to the residents, the high rate of the crimes there were necessitated by the presence of the Alaba International Market and the Badagry Expressway that led to the boarder between Nigeria and other West African countries.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the crime rate in those places was increasing because the areas exposed people as easy preys for criminals and had escape routes for criminals because of poor security management in the areas.

Two local government areas, Apapa and Mushin shared the fourth position because of the nature of the crimes being committed there. Findings showed that the areas were known for prostitution, heavy smoking of Indian hemp and other drug related crimes, motorcycle robbery and stealing.

The youths there were said to be so addicted to drugs to the extent that they do not have physical power to do any meaningful work for survival than to get involved in violent crimes. The areas included the ‘jungle Ajegunle city’ in the Apapa and the notorious Akala area of Mushin.

The last among the top five is Agege local government. They were said to be known for defilement of young girls, snatching of wives and husbands, fraud including money doublers, prostitution, fake currencies, stealing etc.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that there were other local governments were crimes were prevalent such as Lagos Island, Eti-osa and others but the focus was the top five where some local governments shared same percentage and were merged as one.

It was also noted that the Nigeria Police knew the peculiarities of crime in those areas and were putting measures in place in order to curb them as noted by the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgal.