Lagos — The Lagos State Police Commissioner, Marvel Akpoyibo, has set out strategies aimed at fighting crime in the state. Speaking through his PPRO, Frank Mba, Akpoyibo particularly issued marching orders to Okada robbers and other hoodlums in the state who operate with motorbikes within the metropolis to repent or vacate the state. He remarked that criminals who failed to heed this warning would regret their obstinacy.

To ensure the implementation of the directive, the CP has set up operational orders to his operatives, which according to him have started yielding results. Some of the measures put in place, it was gathered, include intensive surveillance, tactical raids of criminal hideouts and purposive stop and search operations.

These measures yielded result last week when on March 5, 2010, at about 5.30am, Policemen from Alausa Division, while on routine patrol along Billings Road, Oregun, arrested a suspected armed robber, Maxwell Ukanwu, male of no fixed address, attempting to rob innocent citizens, while armed with locally made pistol and fifteen live cartridges.

The arm and ammunition as well as wraps of weeds suspected to be Indian hemp and operational Bajaj motorcycle were recovered from the suspect, now cooling his heels in the police custody.

Mba said that efforts are being made to arrest two other members of the gang that are on the run.

In another development, it was revealed that on the same day at about 11p.m., police from Isolo Division, on duty at Okota Road, Isolo, had a shootout with armed robbers on a motorcycle with Reg. No.CJ 711PKJ. The robbers were said to be trailing customers from Oceanic Bank located in the area. The two robbers were felled by police bullets. Recovered from them were 1 Lakarov Arsenal Pistol with seven live ammunitions and the operational motorcycle.

Mba disclosed that both cases are being investigated at the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti Street, Yaba. The new offensives add to Akpoyibo's agenda against criminal elements. Right from the time he was rising from the ranks, the Commissioner has been described as a no nonsense cop. This, according to those who have been following his career path, manifested much when he was Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in several police divisions as well as when he was elevated as an Assistant Commissioner of Police where he served as Area Commander in several Police Area Commands.

He exhibited this posture more than ever when he became the Deputy Commissioner Police in charge of operations in Lagos State Police Command, shortly after he had a stint as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Administration in the same Lagos Command.

While he was DCP operation, the then Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mohammed Abubakar, now AIG Zone 5, Benin City, was promoted as AIG and moved to Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos, to take charge of Lagos and Ogun States respectively.

It was this period that Akpoyibo, in the absence of a CP, was made acting CP, Lagos State Police Command.

Immediately, Akpoyibo began to show the stuff he was made of, though he made series of exploits as DC OPS and declared zero tolerance to crime and criminality.

In several of his press briefings, he had warned criminals to repent or quit Lagos State. Several armed robbers are also known to have been smoked out and apprehended.

In no distant time, he was promoted to a Commissioner of Police and retained as a substantive CP of Lagos State.

At this moment, the ball came fully in his court. This coupled with the assistance of the Lagos State Government led by Babatunde Fashola, who in his wisdom felt that Lagos, aspiring to become a mega city must if not crime- free, be close to Akpoyibo's avowed dream of zero tolerance to crime. This, the state, did by providing logistics including several Armour Personnel Carriers (APCs), which to a large extent had assisted the police in fighting violent crimes in the state, particularly Bank robberies.