LAGOSIANS' feeling of insecurity within the state was further heightened recently, when the relative peace enjoyed in the state in the past few months, was shattered by men of the underworld who struck in different parts of the city, leaving in their trail, sorrow, tears and blood.Moments after the siege on the city was over, the robbers had left quite a number of policemen and residents dead. And since that bloody Sunday, Lagosians have again begun to raise the security question within the city, which has been of economic and strategic importance to the nation."Nobody envisaged that such a thing could happen in Lagos again, going by the number of law enforcement agents that have been very conspicuous in the city. And for such incidents to have taken place in different parts of the city, on the same day and with the assailants having a field day, gives room for concern," argued a resident of Agege, who witnessed the attack on the area that fateful Sunday.According to him, in spite of the proximity of not fewer than two police formations to the spot where the Bureau the Change was robbed, with several killed, there was no police presence, while the operation lasted."The fact that several policemen were killed that day makes one feel very helpless. Remember these are the people that we run to when in danger, and that they could fall prey to these people so easily shows that there is need to overhaul the security network within the city; since the hunter is gradually becoming the hunted now," he lamented.While some Lagosians are confused in respect of what would happen if citizens should dare rely on police for safety, others believed that the robbers worked on the weakness of the state command, since it was learnt that the robbers were deployed in different areas and used different method to rob their victims without police intervention.For instance, while looking frightfully at the bodies of two of the dead policemen, in their Toyota patrol vehicle marked 525 on both sides, one of the eyewitnesses concluded that there is no more security anywhere in the state.In his words, 'if this can happen to police officers without the assailants being apprehended, where else can we run to for security in times like this' This is horrible; we can only seek for God's intervention because it is a clear evidence that our security is becoming increasingly porous.'Indeed, it is a trying time for policemen in Lagos, where they have suddenly become victims of assailant they were trained to trail. On the account of eyewitnesses, the armed robbers carried out their act unchecked and attacked various bureau de change operators in respective areas, robbed motorists and shot policemen.Jubril Mukaila, a Bureau de Change operator at Gbagada disclosed that the robbers successfully carted away several millions of naira unchecked. He explained that the robbers came all out with the determination to crush any obstruction, pointing guns at everyone around to demand for money.More frightening is the fact that it was barely a week after the incident of Meiran, where a police officer caused his colleagues to incur the wrath of residents and tricyclists popularly known as 'Keke Marwa', in the area, after killing one of their union officers.Speaking with Inside Lagos on the current security situation in the city, Barrister Ibunkun Adelodun, blamed the government for the crime rate in the society. He called on the state government to re-equip its security outfit with necessary ammunition.According to him, "it seemed Lagos State government was winning the war against robbers and criminals in the state, until this sad event happened. It appeared it only scratched the issue of fighting crime in the state on the surface, while the fundamentals are left unaddressed.'From Sunday's incidents and other cases recorded in the state recently, it is now evident that the police in the state, had been having their hands full with other issues that would be of pecuniary gains to them."For instance, instead of settling down to the business of fighting crime in the state, what we've seen them do in the past few months have been raids on innocent Lagosians, especially the helpless commercial motorcyclists and danfo drivers, taking advantage of the new law in the state to fleece them of their hard-earned funds," he stated.The barrister's views, no doubt represent those of other Lagosians, who are now increasingly growing grey hairs in respect of safety in the city. This they hinged on the premise that since policemen are beginning to fall victims, the safety of the ordinary Lagosian is far from being guaranteed.
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