Hakeem Odumosu, the Lagos State Commissioner of police has cautioned traditionalists operating in the Ikorodu Local Government Area of the state to desist from strengthening cultists and criminals in the area with local charms, otherwise called juju in the country.
This was contained in his speech during the 2021 Ikorodu Town Hall meeting on security on Wednesday.
The commissioner said the state had enjoyed appreciable peace except in some areas like Ikorodu with a high rate of vices such as cultism, gangsterism, traffic robbery, ritual killings, amongst others.
According to Odumosu, 242 armed robbers and cult members were arrested in the local government area within the last six months while 28 arms and 120 ammunition were recovered.
He added that 192 cultism cases and 18 murder cases were also recorded in the period under review while 25 robbery incidents were foiled.
“The local government councils in Ikorodu must occupy the frontline in combating crimes in the area. Their constitutional responsibilities cannot be jettisoned in the fight against cultism and crimes in general,” he said.
“The traditional institution in the division must be up and doing in condemning the activities of the bad boys (cult members), instead of supporting and celebrating them and their criminal acts.
“The members of the public, especially landlords, must key into this fight against insecurity in Ikorodu by screening those to be accommodated or harboured in their houses.
“The traditionalists and traditional worshippers in this area must stop promoting and protecting the criminals in Ikorodu axis and Lagos State in general. The ideas of fortifying the bad boys and providing native charms for them are counterproductive to our security architecture in this area. Their powers must be used to assist us not to jeopardise our efforts.
“The religious bodies must use all their platforms, links and ideological perspectives to promote peace and security in the state and Nigeria at large. The idea of preaching prosperity at the detriment of salvation is counterproductive to the security of lives and property in our contemporary society.”