Police debunk report on high crime rate in Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command on Monday debunked media report propagating high crime rates in the state in spite of CCTV cameras.

The police in debunking the report, noted that “the story was written as far back as July 2024, but for some inexplicable reasons, the newspaper chose to release the story in January 2025, a clear six months after, without any effort to update it to reflect current realities.”

The Police Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command, Ikeja, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, in a statment in Lagos on Monday @LagosPoliceNG

“RE: CONCERNS AS LAGOS STATE GRAPPLES WITH HIGH CRIME RATES DESPITE CCTV CAMERAS,” asserted “it has come to the attention of the Lagos State Police Command a publication with the above heading published in the Guardian Newspaper of January 20, 2025, alleging high crime rates in Lagos State.

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“In debunking this preposterous claim, it is worthy to first mention that this story was written as far back as July 2024, but for some inexplicable reasons, the newspaper chose to release the story in January 2025, a clear six months after, without any effort to update it to reflect current realities.”
The PPRO argued that “more importantly, empirical statistics have shown that the thrust of the story is baseless and unfounded.”

He highlighted that a few months back, Lagos State was unanimously adjudged the safest state in the country.

According to him, “this development made the state a one-stop destination for all Nigerians and visitors especially during the Yuletide. It is on record that over five hundred thousand people entered Lagos in December 2024 alone and ninety percent of them remained in the state, within the same period, and near-zero crime was recorded.

“Furthermore, the Lagos State Police Command can confirm that the CCTV cameras installed by the state government have indeed aided in the monitoring and arrest of many criminally-minded elements even before they could carry out their nefarious activities.

“That some of these achievements do not make it to the news does not mean they are not happening.”

Apparently, the Commissioner of Police of the Lagos State Command, CP Olanrewaju Ishola, therefore, condemned the ill-thought-out decision of the media house to publish an outdated story capable of causing needless panic within the state. The CP further called on readers to ignore the publication and go about their lawful duties without fear of harassment or intimidation.

CP Ishola assured residents and visitors to Lagos State that adequate human, material and operational resources have been strategically deployed across the length and breadth of the state to ensure optimum safety and security of all and sundry.