Newly deployed Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan Lagos, AIG Muhammed Ari Ali officially assumed duty on Monday with a stern warning to criminals operating within Lagos and Ogun States to immediately relocate and be relocated.

The AIG inspecting Guard of Honour.

The new AIG told newsmen that he was glad being back to Lagos as AIG having served at various capacities  in the state including being the DCP Ops under three Commissioners of Police said his purpose in the zone is to reduce crime to the barest minimum using members of the immediate communities.

AIG Ali stated, “I must say I am highly elated and very honoured to  be here. Of course, I am a hard crime fighter even without being told, so taking anything into cognizance for me is an understatement because I am fully prepared for the job.

All I need to say is that the good people of Lagos and Ogun should expect reduction in crime control, we want to see how best we can bring crime relatively under control to at least give Lagosians and of course Ogun State that enabling environment where people will do their businesses without fear of being attacked and secondly to ensure that they go home from their various places of businesses and then sleep well and of course have their eyes closed at the end of the day.”

“As the new sheriff in town, a lot of things have to come in place. We have to do our crime mapping, where we have notorious criminals. And how to go into partnership with the actors to nip the crime in the bud.

“On the issue of indiscipline, in the police we have our own internal discipline mechanism. It is an

On the issue of cultism and street gangsterism the AIG stressed, “The best approach to fight cultism is through community policing and that tells you that we have to partner with all major actors and stakeholders, you cannot do it alone. Globally, it has been acknowledged that in crime fighting there is no way the Police can do it alone, you take into cognizance of all the actors, you’re talking about the parents, you are talking about the teachers, religious bodies , Landlord Associations and what have you; all the major stakeholders for me are paramount in this fight.

“For me, when you begin to see challenges as problem you already feel or have that sense of self defeatism but when you see challenges as opportunities for you to excel, I am sure you will excel definitely. So I don’t see anything as a challenge to me. We will therefore, have to improve on whatever we are meeting on the ground. But if you ask me, I would advice criminals to relocate from the zone or whoever refuses to relocate we will dislocate them.”

Speaking further, the Police boss said, “When fighting crime, a lot of things shave to come to play. First, you have to do crime-mapping to know where you have some of these notorious crimes that normally disturbs business  and of course, Lagosians and then you think about how to go into partnership with major actors and then see how best to nip that crime in the bud. And talking about discipline, you know in the Police we have our own internal discipline mechanism, it is an organization that is well organized in terms of discipline, there is nobody that is above discipline.

“Everything we are talking about in the Police revolves basically around discipline. All we need to do is to strengthen those areas we fell men are not doing well in terms of enforcement of discipline and once you are able to enforce discipline in all ramification of the job, for me you are home and dry and everybody will fall in place for him to do what is right for him to do.

“But when you are lackadaisical or you have this unperturbed behaviour to work, your body language is what the men are looking up to. If you’re the type that you sleep and snores and you don’t take things the way they are, you don’t expect anything from the men. That is my feeling about discipline.”