FESTAC ROBBERY CONCLUDED

Imagine a scenario where all the four exits are closed.It means  that no single vehicle can enter or leave Festac.If you must leave the town under this setting,you can only do so probably by helicopter or an escape by boat through the canal.If you eliminate the helicopter option then you are left with the canal option.
  It was alleged that the Navy and Air force said they could not act unless they got written permission from Defence Headquaters.That was as good as saying to the Police "you are on your own"Espirit de corps indeed.But come to think of it,it was solely a police statutory duty to fight that crime.The working rule is that when the civil force in this case the police is overwhelmed in an internal security operation,they are duty bound to call on the millitary to come take over.The rehearsal and training on this is done year in year out by the millitary and the police in" Operation Haske Biu"at the Millitary Command and Staff College in Jaji near Zaria in Kaduna State.When overwhelmed the police are duty bound to hand over to the millitary in writing.There is a formal handing and taking over.The operation from thence becomes an entirely millitary affair.It would appear that the Festac incident was far from this scenario.
    In our country there may be the need to share resources in the fight against crime but the onus still lies on the police to perform its duties.In New York Police Department,they have 8800 police cars,11 boats,8 Helicopters,120 Horses,31 German Shepherd dogs and 3 blood hounds,The population of New York is 8.4 million.The annual budget for the NYPD $4.8 billion.We may not be as rich as the Americans but we must try to be seen to be doing something positive in the fight against crime.
   Here in our country once it happens the blame game starts.Oh the police is not performing,crucify them.Oh the police is corrupt and so cannot fight crime.With minimum of resources on the part of the police ,it is expected that citizens should complement their efforts by helping out in little ways.Were the cctv cameras  at both the front and back views of the banks working?How many of the "what"s up"guys in Festac were able to capture the actions on camera or video.Little things of that nature can be done to assist the police.
    There are foreign companies that have subsidiaries in Nigeria that can install and manage cctv cameras in Festac at the cost of N2 million for one camera.50 cameras can cover Festac so eisily if 7 cameras cover each Avenue for now.The Police marine department with the help of the Lagos State  Government can be strenghtened  for effective marine patrols.A Joint Ops Room Ikeja to be comprised of the military,the police,customs,sss,civil defence,immigration etc should be set up as a matter of urgency.With the joint ops room in place all the agencies can collaborate in the fight against crime not only in Festac or Lagos but in our other cities.End