Lagos Taskforce Arrests 132 Miscreants

By Ayo Balogun – The Lagos Taskforce on Environment and Special Offence Unit has arrested 132 miscreants across the state.

Fifty-nine of the arrested miscreants have been arraigned at the Special Offence Court, Alausa while 23 under aged miscreants had been referred to the correctional homes for rehabilitation in the state Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

Thirty-five were arrested in Agege, Oshodi, Pen Cinema, Oko-Oba, Bariga and other parts in the state metropolis while 14 suspected hoodlums were also nabbed in Oshodi area of the state with Indian hemps as 21 others were earlier arrested in Oshodi. Taskforce chairman, Akeem Adedeji told newsmen that the arrest followed the notice of increase in crime rate by the agency, saying that the agency would not fold its arms and allow criminals to overrun Lagos.

According to him, some of the arrested criminals would be screened before they are charged to court, as “it is better to allow criminals to go scort free than to punish innocent.” Adedeji disclosed that the 23 under aged boys would be referred to the juvenile homes for rehabilitation, adding that most of the ‘young miscreants’ are between ages 12 and 15 and from broken homes. He said the unfortunate part of the story was that these kids all had tattoos conspicuous on their body.

“They either have it on their harms on their forehead. Many of them have theirs on their chest. While most of them have distinctive feature to show their superiority in the parks or their enclaves. “Our investigations so far revealed that they all belong to secret cult called ‘Awon Boys’ where they operate in order their ranks and superiority. This is glaring in the tattoo on their body. I wonder where our society is heading to with the growing number of these young miscreants,” he stated.

He stated that government took the giant step again, especially in Oshodi to sanitise the state, saying that he measure became necessary following several complaints from citizens over the rising cases of robbery attacks in the Oshodi area, especially at night.