The Lagos State Police Command said it has arrested about 110 suspects for various offences during the local government election which held on Saturday.
The Commissioner of Police, Mr Fatai Owoseni, disclosed this during an election coverage programme on Channels Television.
“As of the time I left the office (on Saturday evening), we should be having about 110 suspects that have been arrested for one thing or the other. There may still be more because we’ve not finished the whole process but as of now, we have close to about 110 suspects in custody.”
Mr Owoseni who said he also monitored the process in some areas of the state noted that the police responded promptly to the incidence of violence in some parts of the state.
He said: “I can tell you that as we sit down, and rounding up everything, it (the election) was relatively peaceful and in some of those few areas where we had skirmishes, there were prompt responses to those skirmishes and that led to some good arrests made in some areas”.
The Police Commissioner maintained that no major incidence of violence was recorded during the election, stressing that adequate security measures were put in place.
“Major incidence of violence, not really; I was out by myself and in those areas that everybody had been thinking that blood would be spilled, we’ve not had anything like that. I did my monitoring in-between Oshodi, Mushin and Agege.
“Where we had skirmishes, there were prompt responses and where it became necessary that we should give support to electoral officials in moving the results of votes cast to the collation centre, we did that. I got personally involved in escorting some of those materials, especially in Mushin where there was apprehension that some people would hijack the process,” he said.
Responding to reactions from some residents of the state who criticised the restriction of movement for some hours, the commissioner noted that adequate information had been passed across before the election took place.
He added: “What was needed to be done must be done for the election to hold; the police enforce the laws, we don’t make the laws. The law was made on restriction and enough information was also sent out prior to this time… so the police only enforced the law and the restriction order was properly enforced.”
CHANNELS TV
