By LANRE ADESANYA
Lagos State House of Assembly has called for the establishment of Police Commands in Ikorodu and Epe in order to contain the recurring ritual killings in Ikorodu and the recent killing of a family of four by suspected members of the dreaded Badoo Cult.
Raising the issue under matter of urgent public importance during plenary on Monday, the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, representing Ikorodu Constituency 1, lamented the security threats in the area.
Referring to the recent killings of a family of four in Ikorodu by cult members suspected to be members of the cult group, Agunbiade said that the whole thing started in Ibeshe area of the State.
“They descended on a house in Erunwe last week, killed the man, ripped open the pregnancy of his wife and also killed their two children.
“The security agents find it difficult to deal with them. I received a call this morning that a member of the gang was arrested by a vigilante group. He was kept in a solitary place and people lynched him before the Police could get there.
“Four boys were recently killed in the area as they were suspected to be members of Badoo cult group. The cult members attack new sites, where people don’t have enough security,” he said.
The Majority Leader, then, called on Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, to intensify security in Ikorodu and Epe areas of the State.
Moreso, the Police was called upon to expose the sponsors of Badoo cult groups and other criminals in the area.
“Police should establish commands in Ikorodu and Epe for proper security.
“An ad-hoc committee should be set-up by the House to invite officers of the Lagos State
Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC) to interact with them on the security challenges in the state and the functionality of their job,” he said.
Members of the communities were also called upon to give information to the Police and other security agents.
This was seconded by Hon. Segun Olulade from Epe Constituency 2 and this became the resolution of the House.
Olulade recalled that the same incident occurred in Agbowa area of Epe, adding that men of LNSC ought to gather intelligence report and pass it to the Police.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obama, sympathised with the people of Ikorodu over the incident and the people of Epe over the kidnap of six students in the Model College in Igbonla, Epe.
According to him, such an incident ought not to occur when there is a government in place.
The Speaker stated that everything must be done to end the menace, and that the government should be proactive about the matter.
“We once called on the Governor to site Police Command in Ikorodu and Epe to stop the activities of these hoodlums. The community members should work with the Police to give them information so that they could help us,” he said.