Lagos police to enforce curfew on highways, streets, inner routes

The Lagos state Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has vowed to push the enforcement of the 8 pm to 6am curfew, emplaced by the government beyond highways to streets and inner routes in the state to ensure total compliance.

Odumosu, who stated this on Monday, after a security meeting with area commanders, unit heads and other principal staff officers of the command, said the command would adopt persuasive enforcement during the curfew.

While stating that some persons had been arrested for flouting the rule on the compulsory use of face masks, the police boss urged all to work together to end the coronavirus scourge.

On measures the command had adopted to ensure commercial vehicle operators comply with the 60 per cent loading directive, he said transport bodies such as the NURTW and RETEAN had been co-opted into the enforcement operation.

Commenting on the crowds experienced at banks and markets, violating the social/physical distancing directive, Odumosu said efforts were on to ease the rush by bank customers.

He said: “We just had a security meeting, we just analysed the presidential directive and the state government regulations in line with the directive, and we are the leading agency in enforcing this directive.

“The challenge for us now is to put our heads together to have a common way of enforcing the directive.

“It should not be difficult to enforce the new transport regulation in the state because the state government has gone further to bring in all the transport unit in the state, they are to do self-enforcement for their members and the state government is also doing advocacy.

“Self-compliance still remains the best, so the LASTMA officials, Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, the park and monitoring officials of the Lagos state government have accepted they are going to enforce this.

READ ALSO: C’River task force bans illegal logging

“Once they comply, those who refuse, they will know the means of punishing themselves. With that, we are expecting voluntary compliance.

“Those arrested so far, are those who did not put on the face mask. Either the passenger, driver or conductor. Anyone not putting on face mask will be arrested.

“Anyone carrying more than the stipulated number of passengers without social distancing, will be stopped.

“The operatives on enforcement will just ask the excess passenger to get down and the bus will continue its journey with the expected number of passengers.

“Before any arrest can be made, it will be after 8pm. We have gone round the city as early as 5am, all the barricades have been removed and no police is stopping anyone anywhere. Before we will start stopping, it will be 8pm.

“By and large, the enforcement is a persuasive one; we will persuade people. To be realistic, all what we are avoiding is for people not to have coronavirus.

“The curfew will be enforced everywhere; this time, the police will not arrest you for vehicle particulars, but for refusing to put on the face mask and not keeping social distance.

“Since we started the lovk down, we have not had any case of police brutality in Lagos because we are using persuasive enforcement and we will continue on that.”