General Manager of the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency (LNSA) Prince (Dr.) Ifalade Oyekan, FSIN, has harped on the need for effective collaboration in crime prevention and detection.
Speaking at a Roundtable with delegates of the Royal Kingdom of the Netherlands and other partners, Oyekan thanked the delegation for the recent handing over of the Office for Anti-Human Trafficking in Lagos State to the Agency to aid in the fight against human trafficking and related crimes.
He said, “We have both uniformed officers and undercover operatives spread across the state working to ensure that residents sleep with both eyes closed at night”.
Oyekan also said the Corps Officers have been able to foil many crimes and illegal activities across the State, stressing that about 10 cases of human trafficking were reported during the first week of the unveiling of the anti-human trafficking office.
He pointed out the role technology plays in the fight against crime, expressing his appreciation to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for approving the establishment of the situation room for the Agency.
The General Manager noted that the Agency has extended its monitoring activities to the waterways, pointing out that a lot of crimes are being perpetrated on the waterways.
However, he lamented the uncontrolled migration of people into Lagos, saying “Our biggest challenge is that people migrate mostly from the North and other places making Lagos their final destination with no means of livelihood or solid plans for their welfare”.
In his response, the Head of the Delegation and Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, Mr. Wouter Plomp pointed out the power of social media handles in the fight against illegal migration, adding that people’s preference for the illegal approach because of their angst for a better life at all cost.
He said, “Even if we create a better way of migration, people will still opt for the other way”.
According to Mr. Sunday Aimiuwu of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), to abate the “Japa Syndrome”, his Agency has engaged and sensitise youths in Ikorodu, Alimosho, and Ojo LGAs on how to travel the right way with the intervention of the International Office of the Migrants (IOM)
On his part, Mr. Alex of the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons also said his organisation had a good collaboration with IOM and other agencies in respect of returnees from Niger, Mali, and Libya.
He added that School Clubs were also created to combat the syndrome.
The meeting was attended by delegates from the Kingdom of Netherlands and their Embassy, Mr. Eric van der Burg; Minister for Migration at the Ministry of Justice and Security, Mr. Peter Schuurman; Special Envoy, Migration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Eeuwke Faber; Deputy Director, General International Migration Management at the Ministry of Justice and Security, Mrs. Eva de Wit; First Secretary, Migration at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Representatives and Partners from IOM, PROMIS, NAPTIP, NNCFRMI, NOA, Anti Human Trafficking Taskforce, and the LNSA.