Crime -fighting: Lagos Neighbourhood Corps to strengthen intelligence gathering – Chairman
NAN-H-78
Intelligence
By Mateen Badru
Lagos, Jan. 11, 2018 (NAN) Mr Israel Ajao, Chairman, Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency, on Thursday said that the agency would strengthen its intelligence-gathering machinery in fighting crime in 2018.
Ajao, a retired deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
““Intelligence gathering is the foremost responsibility of any security agency. Information gathering is a process to produce intelligence.
““Without information gathering, the police will not be able to function effectively. We take intelligence gathering as paramount and this is why our recruitment is grassroot-oriented.
““The Neighborhood Safety Corps recruits from all the local government areas in Lagos where the officers reside and work.
“”This makes it easy to fulfill our mandate which is to complement the effort of the police and other security agencies. We bridge the gap between the police and the people,” Ajao said.
According to Ajao, the Neighborhood Safety Corps uses effective intellligence gathering in tracking and arresting criminals.
“”We exchange ideas and information with the state police command which they immediately use in nipping crimes in the bud; our collaboration with the police is strong,” he said.
The retired DIG maintained that the agency’s working partnership with other security agencies was waxing stronger, resulting in tracing the Badoo cult shrines in Ikorodu area.
“”Just three weeks ago, during a joint patrol, we stumbled on a mob trying to lynch a Badoo suspect and we took the suspect in for interrogation which led to the arrest of a kingpin at Ijebu-Imosan.
“”We intend to continue with collaborations like this, not just for the Badoo issue, but for other crimes in the state,” he said.
The retired top cop explained that the concept of community policing is synonymous with proactive policing which was complemented by community participation in nipping crimes in the bud. (NAN)
BOM/OSA/WOJ
(Edited by Shittu Obassa/Wale Ojetimi)