By John Igoche
The Lagos State Police Command currently led by Commissioner of Police (CP) Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, who assumed office as the 41st CP in February 2025, has maintained it’s key focus areas to include maintaining law and order, fostering community engagement, and enhancing public safety.
The State Police Command steadily makes land mark achievements which have been significant in the following areas of crime prevention where the Command has foiled over 141 Robbery attempts and arrested several suspects in action and some kidnapping cases have been contained and victims rescued swiftly. Some 23 cult-related incidents were recorded, leading to the arrest and prosecution of
about 211 suspects; in the issue of stolen vehicle recovery, the Lagos State Police Command recovered about 72 stolen vehicles, many of which were traced to other states and returned to their rightful owners.
In the area of community engagement, CP Olohundare Jimoh established Police Community Relations (PCRC) meetings which have become a model for participatory security management. CP Olohundare Jimoh’s approach emphasizes
proactive policing, Intelligence gathering and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure a safer Lagos with initiatives which include:
– Community policing in which he has continued to strengthen community
relationships and encouraging citizen participation in security matters;
– He has also been leveraging technology for crime prevention, investigation, and
emergency response.
– Remarkably, his Youth Engagement Initiatives, targeting youth, like sports and
educational programs, to foster positive relationships has been fruitfully yielding
internal community cohesion.
CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh’s community policing strategies are making
waves in Lagos, focusing on trust-building, youth engagement, and collaboration
with traditional rulers. Some key highlights include the Lagos State Youth Policy
Dialogue which brought together young Lagos citizens and police officers to
discuss issues like extortion, hostel raids and unlawful detention. This led to the
proposal of a Nigeria Police Youth Advisory Council, which is an ongoing initiative
CP Jimoh convened a stakeholders’ forum with traditional rulers, community
leaders, and civil society groups to strengthen cooperation and position police as
community partners; the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC)
meetings have become a model for participatory security management, enhancing
local intelligence and grassroots insights as a proactive component of policing in
Lagos State.
Public Complaints are addressed faster, petition systems are simplified, and
officers undergo retraining on statement-taking, conflict mediation, and customer
service ethics.
These initiatives have improved citizen-police relations, reduced tension, and enhanced security partnerships, and it all hinges on the background of the CP deriving from his varied engagements as a public and community relations practitioner in the Police Force before his present tour of duty as a senior Police Officer and State Police Commissioner.
Lagos Citizens continue to relate with his style of peace keeping, conflict resolution and safety for all the citizens living in the commercial capital of Nigeria and he categorically states that for his team, more work is ongoing to completely enhance
the work of policing Lagos State and there is no resting, because crime develops in various ways:
This means that the Lagos State Police Command must up its game to combat the antics of criminals effectively.
After our interactive session with him it is safe to wish him more winnings in his onerous task of keeping Lagos safe for all law abiding citizens
John Igoche is a Community Relations and Public Affairs Analyst.
