Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunwa, welcomed the Inspector General of Police, Dr. Kayode Egbetokun, to Lagos State Police Command Headquarters, Ikeja on his first official tour to Lagos State on August 23, 2023.

The visitation holds great significance as it marks a homecoming for the Inspector General, the personnel of the Command had the extraordinary opportunity to interact with the IGP, drawing inspiration from his vast wealth of expertise, understanding his leadership values, and aligning with his strategic vision for policing.

It also served as an avenue for the Command to brief the IGP on the internal security situation in the state, highlighting achievements, identifying gaps, and seeking his invaluable support in advancing their crucial policing mandate to safeguard Lagosians.

One of the purpose of the IGP’s visit was the commissioning of the Complaint Response Unit, a project initiated and executed by the Command’s leadership, demonstrating their commitment to police-citizen accountability.

Addressing the distinctive security challenges faced by Lagos State, CP Owohunwa highlighted the prevalent threats of cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping, murder, and Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV).

He emphasized the pressing need to address the differences between civil and criminal dynamics in land disputes, the traffic gridlock, and occasional traffic robberies that have been compounded by ongoing road projects, notably the Lagos-Ibadan highway.

The Lagos CP, Idowu Owohunwa, while speaking during the commissioning of the PCU, said, ” In addition to its ethical complaint functionality, the Lagos State Complaint Response Unit has applications for e-crime reporting, which enable citizens to report crimes from the comfort of their homes or offices without necessarily coming physically to the Police Stations. ”

” The process is that the Lagos State CRU model will act as a central criminal complaint clearing house which will electronically receive such complaints and process them to the relevant police Division, Department or Unit within the command, who will, in turn, contact the complainant, to whom a reporting code would have been generated and issued, for investigative actions to commence. ”
He added, “The applications that have been placed at the Unit also have tools to support the computation, analysis, and graphical presentation of statistics on complaints, both on crimes and complaints against police conduct, as may have been processed through the Centre. ” This is the best global practice in professional standard evaluation, accountability and criminal investigation processes.

He further stated that “this is the standard Lagos State deserves. This, sir, is the standard we are striving to integrate into policing functions in Lagos. “The Complaint Response Unit, which is an ultramodern and full-fledged Call centre, will be under the supervision of the Command’s Public Relations Officer as prescribed in the Police Act 2020.

It will be active twenty-four (24) hours a day and seven (7) days a week and citizens can interface with operators who will run shift duties on nine (9) different dedicated phone lines. ”

CP Owohunwa The services of the Unit can also be accessed in real-time via WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, Weblink, Instagram, and e-mail, and all the officers to man the centre have been exposed to weeks of specialised training and practical exposure with the support of our technical and corporate partners.”

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has assured Nigerians that the nation will begin to experience improved security.

The IGP also admonished policemen in Lagos State to shun corruption and other vices that may damage the image of the force. He however warned the officers against extortion, unethical and unprofessional conduct. He reminded them that policing actions must be geared towards building trust and getting the necessary support from the people.

He said, “Shun extortion because it is giving us a bad image. True blessing comes from God. If you want God’s blessing, you won’t engage in extortion.”The IGP gave the speech during the commissioning of the Police Response Unit and other projects in Lagos State

The IGP, while speaking with newsmen in Lagos, said, “We have been making efforts to reduce crime to the absolute minimum, and we have, and those terrorising Abuja-Kaduna Road, the South East, and other parts of the country, I want Nigeria to give us time; they will soon see our actions everywhere. “Today we have launched CRU. We will take all these things one after the other. ” The police boss stated:

IGP Egbetokun stated further, “The CRU will promote transparency; we want to build confidence in the minds of the public; we have also enhanced public collaboration to achieve all these; and whoever has a complaint now has a place to lodge it.”

“I want to assure Nigerians that we want to make the CRU and other parts of the command functional, and the officers that will man the unit will be professionals who have impeccable character, and they will receive regular training.”

The IGP commended the Lagos Commissioner of Police for the prompt establishment of the Police Complaints Units.

The Police boss said the unit would promote accountability and enhance police-community collaboration. He said: “We always appeal to the public to cooperate with us and give us information, but we also have to show transparency to be able to get that. The new policing vision is about emplacing professionally competent service driven,and people-driven police that would support the agenda of the government in its efforts towards economic recovery and growth, as well as social and political development of our country.

“We don’t want actions of police officers reported on social media. You must show honesty and demonstrate to the public that you are men of integrity.

“Officers manning this unit were carefully selected, they are those with impeccable integrity; and would be trained continually, including overseas training. We will improve the unit and make it functional,” he stated.

IGP Egbetokun also approved the allocation and release of five patrol vehicles and two trucks from those parked at the Police College field to Lagos State Police Command, one of which will be dedicated to the operations of the CRU and others deployed to enhance the operational capacity of the Command in dealing with current and evolving crimes.

The CRU was built with the support from former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Olumide Apata, Airtel Nigeria and 9Mobile. Aside from being a platform for complaints against police operatives, it would serve as a crime reporting platform, with incident numbers generated for tracking.

Activist-lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), lauded the initiative, noting  that it was in line with the provisions of the Police Act, 2020.
He promised to sponsor the establishment of four CRUs in four different states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Commending the IG for being an exemplary officer in the past 34 years he had known him. Falana advised police operatives against torture and unlawful detention, reminding them that the punishments as prescribed by the Police Act, 2020 were stiff.
“Torture has become a serious offence, it now attracts 25 years imprisonment if the suspect dies. Whoever is involved will be charged with murder.
“Very soon, we are starting visitations to police stations. Every month, the Chief Magistrate will visit every police station in Nigeria. During the visit, the Magistrate can grant bail, order the arraignment of a suspect or ask the suspect to go home.
“The Magistrate is also empowered to report any police officer who abuses the rights of suspects and as a matter of fact, Section 6 of the Police Establishment Act says every police station shall have a lawyer assigned to it to monitor human rights complaints.”

The former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumide Apata, who sought more support for the Police pledged to build more CRUs Edo and Delta Commands.

The Founder, Women Arise for Change Initiative, Dr. Josephine Okei-Odumakin, promised to support the initiative, to undertake the training of the personnel to be deployed at the CRU. She stressed on the importance of CRU to citizen.

CRU is a framework for promoting police-citizen accountability, and a centre for the receipt of complaints on police officers’ inadequacies, coordinate immediate response, facilitate investigations and disciplinary processes where necessary, and render feedback to citizens.

In attendance were the DIG in charge of Southwest, DIG Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, AIG in charge of Zone 2 (Lagos and Ogun), AIG Mohammed Ari Ali; Commissioners of Police of various commands in Lagos; the Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Ikeja Cantonment; Commander, NNS Beecroft, Apapa and Nigerian Air force counterpart; Oniru of Iru Land, His Royal Majesty, Oba Abdulwasiu Omogbolahan Lawal, Abisogun II; frontline lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN; the immediate past President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Olumide Akpata; the President of Women Arise group, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin; Dr. Seyi Adetayo from Airtel; Mr. Kenneth Chukwu Ofili of 9Mobile, Director, Department of State Security (DSS) Lagos Command; Commandant, NSCDC, Lagos Command, Director, CLEEN Foundation among a host of other dignitaries.

Also, during the tour, IGP Kayode Egbetokun inaugurated some projects built by Mobile Police Force No 22 Squadron under the leadership of ACP Braide Ibiye Elekima. Such projects included the remodelled and furnished administrative building; newly built and equipped Police Clinic, ICT Centre, Tailoring workshop and 14 Bed Transit Camp.

Other facilities inurgurated were the newly installed 10 Solar light units; newly built Gate/Security post casting of 304-square metres parking space and Parade Ground.