THE creeping takeover of parts of Lagos by street urchins has gone beyond being a public nuisance. It has evolved into a direct assault on public safety, economic activity and the rule of law. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu can no longer afford to look the other way.
He must deploy the full coercive powers of the state to dismantle this criminal enterprise before it degenerates into complete lawlessness.
A June 28 Sunday PUNCH report painted a disturbing picture of organised extortion by hoodlums, popularly known as agberos and ‘area boys,’ at Marwa Bus Stop, Victoria Garden City, Ikota, Ilaje, Abraham Adesanya and Freedom Way, all in the Lekki and Ajah corridors of Nigeria’s megacity.
Indeed, these are prime districts home to affluent Nigerians, expatriates and major businesses. The $20 billion Dangote Refinery, which is regarded as the largest single-train refinery in the world, is situated in this area.
According to residents and motorists, these locations have become notorious extortion points where road users are routinely harassed, intimidated, and in many cases, violently attacked.
The accounts are chilling.
Whether in broad daylight or after dusk, whenever traffic builds up, gangs of young men swoop on trapped motorists, demanding money with astonishing brazenness.
Drivers whose vehicles develop faults or are involved in minor accidents are quickly surrounded and forced to pay what the hoodlums cynically describe as “settlement”, a euphemism for extortion.
Those who resist risk having their windscreens shattered, side mirrors smashed or their vehicles battered with stones, sticks and other dangerous objects.
This is nothing short of organised criminality. It deserves holistic, sustained counter-measures by Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for the Environment, Tokunbo Wahab and the security agencies.
Even more disturbing are allegations that some of the hoodlums deliberately create traffic bottlenecks by rolling abandoned tyres and other obstacles onto the highway to slow traffic and manufacture fresh opportunities for extortion.
Such calculated criminality is taking place in broad daylight on one of Lagos’ flagship highways. This is a failure of the security system.
Even more alarming is the impunity with which these gangs operate. They openly consume illicit drugs, intimidate residents and extort motorists despite the visible presence of security agencies.
Here, the National Law Drug Enforcement Agency should intervene covertly and overtly.
This is because such brazenness reflects a dangerous conviction that they are untouchable. When criminals operate without the slightest fear of arrest or prosecution, it is the authority of the state, not merely the law, that is being openly mocked.
This menace is by no means confined to Lekki.
From Ajah through the Lekki-Epe corridor and across many parts of Lagos Mainland, motorists dread the prospect of a vehicle breakdown because of the notorious demand for “owo omo taku”, money forcibly extracted from distressed drivers before they are “permitted” to repair or tow their vehicles.
What should ordinarily attract sympathy and assistance has become a lucrative criminal enterprise.
For a state that proudly markets itself as Africa’s commercial capital and a destination for investment, tourism and innovation, this is a bad disgrace.
Lagos cannot aspire to global city status while motorists are subjected to organised extortion on its major highways.
Investors pay close attention to public safety. Tourists judge cities by their ability to guarantee freedom of movement. Residents deserve to travel without constantly looking over their shoulders or fearing harassment by criminal gangs masquerading as roadside helpers.
Data released by the Lagos State Police Command show that 118 suspected criminals were arrested in coordinated operations carried out in April targeting armed robbery, cultism, kidnapping, vandalism, illegal possession of firearms and street violence across the state.
The police have also repeatedly recovered firearms, dangerous weapons and illicit drugs from suspected cultists and street gangs.
Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics reported 921,694 historical and ongoing incidents of assault and related crimes.
These figures reinforce the urgent need for preventive policing instead of the familiar cycle of reactive crackdowns after lives and property have already been endangered.
The Sanwo-Olu administration must therefore move beyond rhetoric.
Occasional raids that merely scatter hoodlums from one neighbourhood to another have repeatedly failed. The government should launch sustained joint operations involving the police, the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps and other security agencies to reclaim known black spots permanently.
Those arrested must be diligently prosecuted rather than quietly released to resume business the following day. Equally important is identifying and dismantling the criminal networks that recruit, finance, protect and profit from these gangs.
The Lagos State House of Assembly should strengthen oversight of agencies responsible for public order, while local government authorities must stop tolerating the illegal occupation of roads, bus stops and other public spaces.
Where necessary, surveillance cameras should be installed at notorious hotspots, while rapid-response teams should be stationed along major highways to assist stranded motorists before criminals get to them.
Every day these hoodlums continue to terrorise motorists, government authority is further diminished, public confidence eroded, and Lagos’ reputation tarnished.
Sanwo-Olu has demonstrated in the past that, when sufficiently determined, his administration can reclaim public spaces from criminal elements.
This is another defining moment.
The governor must act decisively and act now. Every day of delay hands the streets over to criminals and tells law-abiding Lagosians that the state is steadily losing control. (PUNCH EDITORIAL)
