Lagos State Governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has vowed to fight indiscriminate use of firearms by security agents in the state.
Sanwo-Olu said this Saturday while on a condolence visit to the family of Kolade Johnson, who was shot dead by men of the Special Anti-Cultism Squad of the Nigeria Police Force in the Onipetesi area of the state on Sunday.
The governor-elect described as “unacceptable” the indiscriminate killing of young men in the state by security agents, saying that his administration would curtail it.
He said, “I think this incident is a wake-up call to all that there is need for the police hierarchy to take a second look at the operations of their rank and file.
“A situation where men and officers of the police and indeed any security organisation will willfully cut down the lives of our youths is unacceptable. We should all speak against it. We must all rise against it. The police should realise that they are there to protect the citizens and not to send them to early grave under any guise.
“I know that the 21st century policing should thrive more on intelligence gathering, tactical operations, which will bring about clinical execution of assignment. With this in mind, our security operatives should adopt modern techniques in fighting crimes so as to reduce incidents of avoidable deaths especially of innocent youths.
“It is gratifying to note that the police authorities acted promptly. We read in the news that they have dismissed the officer who allegedly fired the shot that killed Mr. Johnson. This shows to us that we are not living in Banana Republic. We live in a society where justice and equity should be the order of the day.”
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