Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says he is fully supporting the use of military action to rid the commercial city of armed robbery, kidnapping, illegal oil bunkering, among other criminal activities.
Ambode said this Wednesday, when Enebong Udoh, a major general and new General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, visited the State House, Alausa, Ikeja.
The governor said although a lot had been done in the last 32 months to secure Lagos, his administration would nonetheless continue to support military operations to further secure residents and businesses in the state.
According to Ambode, security is the major pillar upon which the economic growth of the state is built, as his administration remained committed to sustaining the successes so far recorded.
“As an administration, we have always said that security is the real foundation of the economic growth of Lagos and it has been proven in the last two and a half years. I have had the cooperation of all the security agencies in Lagos; they have worked together and there has been a lot of collaboration and improvement.
“I want to also say that I am going to scale up the activities of ‘Operation Mesa’ and I welcome the idea to set up new army units that tackle issues that relate to kidnapping, smuggling and all the vices that we have.
“I am also very excited that we will soon have the presence of the army in most of those areas that we are having troubles, such as Ikorodu, Epe, among others, so that we take security down to the people.
“I believe that Nigeria will be better off if we sustain security and peace in Lagos,” he said.
Udoh, on his part, commended Ambode for extending support to security agencies, particularly the Nigerian Army, saying the development had greatly facilitated their operations in combating crimes in the state.
He also thanked the state government for a swift response to the recent ocean surge near Bonny Cantonment in Victorai Island, and appealed for an expeditious action to contain the threat.
The GOC also sought further assistance of the governor in the areas of operational vehicles, facelift for military formations in the state and support for special teams already set up to combat illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping, cultism, among others.
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