PDP Lagos rally: How police, SSS move against political thugs

By Emmanuel Udom

 Security operatives placed Lagos, the commercial nerve center of Nigeria under close watch for days in order to frustrate the moves of political thugs, days ahead of the President Goodluck Jonathan campaign, at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos Island.

Our correspondent reliably gathered from security sources that from about 6.pm on Monday, January 6, police officers from four Squadron units of the Nigeria Police Force, drawn from Abuja and other states across the federation arrived Lagos, battle ready.

According to our sources, in Lagos, Divisional Police Officers DPOs and Police Area Commanders drawn Areas A to N Police Command were also placed on red alert from Monday with officers serving under these commands.

These DPOs and ACs were complimented by mobile police officers re-deployed from the Lagos State counter-terrorism units, under-cover police officers in plain clothes and MOPOL officers.

Kayode Aderanti, Lagos state police commissioner, supervised by Manko Umar, assistant inspector-general of police in-charge of zone 2 Police Command,  was named the Overall Commander in the Lagos security operations.

He was assisted by deputy commissioner of police in-charge of operations, administrations as well as airport and sea port and marine police commissioners.

Our correspondent, who was at TBS a day before the flag-off of the President Goodluck Jonathan re-election camping observed that operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) the police, operatives of Directorate of Army Intelligence (DMI) and that of the Nigerian Intelligence Agency (NIA) have infiltrated all the known blackspots and criminal hideouts around Obalende, Lagos Island, Ikoyi, among other areas.

The areas around the Tafawa Balewa Square were also condoned off as at Monday evening, where some heavily armed, stern looking security operatives, monitored the movement of people and motorists in and around the places.

Emmanuel Ojukwu, Force Public Relations Officer said that the security agents were battle ready to deal decidedly with anybody who may want to foment trouble before, during and after the campaign  in Lagos.