Mixed emotions have been elicited in response to the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, ordering the immediate transfer of all of the police personnel from the Ajah Police Station. Lagosians have advised the CP against deploying those policemen to their localities.
The CP took this action in response to the brutal murder of Bolanle Raheem, a pregnant lawyer from Lagos, who was shot dead on Christmas Day in the Ajah region of Lagos State by ASP Drambi Vandi.
In response to Benjamin Hundeyin, the State Police Spokesman's, Monday tweet about the officers' transfer, a worried Lagosian with the handle @Lan66c on Twitter appealed amiably: "Please, don't bring those bad eggs to Igando, Alimosho in the name of God.
“The peace and well-behaved officers we are enjoying here now, we have never had such in history. Even transporters and citizens are enjoying it now.”
He further appealed to the spokesman to “Help us appreciate the DPO there; he is doing well.” Adding to it in the Pidgin English, he claimed, “No violence in Igando again. We are the law-abiding citizens of this great country. As it stands, other communities need to learn from us”.
Hundeyin had responded to the dismantling of shanties promoting the sale of alcoholic drinks in the Ajah area as seen on Twitter.
Again, another Lagosian, @Olota48 protested: “They should not transfer them (the officers from Ajah) to Ikotun, please. The ones here are doing great now.”
Another Twitter user, @Stuntvinny asked Hundeyin, “Bro, I hope some of these guys won’t be transferred to Ile Epo or Meiran. Because there are a lot of places near the stations in these two places where alcoholic beverages are sold. May we not hear or see the death of citizens by police in these areas soon.”
For @Kaptainamos, her reaction reads: “Please, is it best to have all new personnel police an area they are new to? Won’t that be counterproductive? Knowing the landscape is also material to policing, right?”
While @Laredo80 suggested that those transferred police officers from Ajah division might be useful in the fight against “Bandits/ISWAP in the Northwest/East as they are good with their guns. The IGP should look into that. He (IGP) might be wasting their talents if they are retained in any of the southern states”.
Another Twitter user, @Yinkus772003, cautioned that replacement without retraining and reorientation is just transferring the problem to another area. But one Prestige, @oke_olabode, commends the efforts of the CP. “This should be the standard nationwide.
Meanwhile, Lagosians listed other police stations with similar alcoholic patronage, shanties, and newly constructed shops in front of police stations. They include Layeni in Ajegunle, Ikotun, Igando, Railway Police station at Agege FKJ, Zone 2 Police Headquarters at Onikan, Festac Town Police Station, and Area J stations.