ccollins: what's funny about such a thing that u are laughing in a evil way. Do u know the tears and pains such robberies caused many families and individuals in the past. U know the number of people that died. U are being masochist and insensitive as some evil people on this nairaland platform are. U better repent and turn to Jesus Christ who alone can redeem u from sin and eternal condemnation
anonimi: It is a misplaced priority for a country of growing debts, waterless existence and extreme poverty paupers with the highest number of children out of school, COMPARED with repairs and maintenance of existing roads.
A country where not only are people fasting and praying to japa, but the leaders looters are always abroad for medical tourism etc.
If Government no construct road, nah still same you go Wail.
Is the USA not in debt?
Is UK not in debt?
In China not in Debt?
List out the names of the Developed Countries around the World who don't borrow
There's a point in Time in this Nigeria Governors can't pay Salaries and Pensions but all that is in the past.
Well, Wail on Nairaland all you want, nah you sabi
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Will Rule Nigeria till 2031.
On Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mandate I Stand Gidigba
A new wave of robberies hit Lagos in 1990. Daredevil armed robbers swept across the border from the Republic of Benin and terrorised Lagos, especially the Festac and Surulere areas.
These robbers were usually well dressed, came in expensive cars and targetted luxury cars that were popular at that time like the Lexus LS400 and the Nissan Pathfinder.
These crazy raids dominated the headlines. The robbers were sometimes dressed in suits and other times in traditional attire and even the police were terrified of them.
Some people claimed that the robberies were due to the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which made it easy for robbers to get automatic rifles and other military grade equipment.
There was also another phenomenon that I called consortium robbery. The robbers would write to a neighbourhood that they are coming to rob them so the neighbourhood should prepare and make sure they have enough money for the robbers. Then robbery gangs would combine so that there would be many robbers (some newspapers said as many as 50 robbers) and they would attack the community and go from house to house to rob them.
Rasaki
The then military governor of Lagos, Colonel Raji Rasaki (the Action Man) has since said that he setup a secret squad of soldiers to tackle the robberies.
He said that the soldiers patrolled the city in unmarked luxury cars at night and that their orders were to arrest any robber that surrendered and to kill any robber that fired at them. He said that he told them to leave the bodies of the armed robbers on the streets. He said that this was why people complained about corpses on the roads during his tenure.
Marwa
Colonel Mohammed Buba Marwa became governor in 1996 and he asked General Abacha for permission to set up a special squad of soldiers that would tackle armed robbery in the state. General Abacha granted permission and Operation Sweep was created.
The Lagos State Government financed the operation by providing second hand Toyota Corolla and Nissan Bluebird cars for use as patrol vehicles. These vehicles were not painted in any special colour (so that you could easily mistake them for civilian vehicles), but they had the words Operation Sweep written in black along the sides of the vehicle. Most of them used car alarms as sirens.
The Lagos State Government also provided walkie talkies for use in the operation.
Operation Sweep evened things out because the soldiers also had military grade weapons like the robbers and the soldiers were not afraid to confront the men of the underworld.
There was a cult attack and reprisal attack at the University of Lagos in 1996 and Operation Sweep was deployed to the university. These were plain clothes officers (some people said that they were SSS officers) who patrolled the campus in a grey Peugeot 504 station wagon with the words Operation Sweep written in black on the sides. There were no further cult clashes after that.
However, this good programme also created problems for Governor Marwa. It led to a lot of rumours.
Senior military officers told General Sani Abacha that it was very dangerous to allow a mere state governor to command troops. They said that Colonel Marwa could use Operation Sweep to stage a coup. In fact, they said that Marwa was planning a coup. Governor Marwa had a dificult time with senior military officers, including the chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Ishaya Bamaiyi during this period.
Only two states had soldiers in internal security outfits during this period. There was the dreaded Rivers State Internal Security Task Force of Major Paul Okuntimo and the Lagos Operation Sweep.
There were also rumours on the streets. The rumours claimed that Operation Sweep soldiers killed a lot of innocent people. I never saw any evidence of this, but the rumours were persistent.
Tinubu and RRS
Democracy returned in 1999 and Operation Sweep was disbanded. The soldiers returned to their barracks.
Instead, Governor Bola Tinubu created the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).
FLASHBACK: 6th July 1999, Governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu Launched the Rapid Response Squad (@rrslagos767) which was created from defunct ‘Operation Sweep’
Mobile policemen were deployed to the RRS to replace the departing soldiers and this was the first time that a new strategy was used.
Sunday Adewusi was the inspector general of police in the early 1980s (the Shagari era) and he heavily equipped the Mobile Police. They had Sterling Machine Guns, Saxon Armoured Vehicles, etc. In fact, other rank soldiers that took part in the 1983 coup were told that Mr Adewusi had equipped the Mobile Police so that it could resist soldiers if they staged a coup.
The Saxon armoured vehicles were parked at Mobile Police barracks and brought out when there were riots. However, in 1999, they were brought out to support RRS operations.
The Lagos State Government bought bulletproof vests, ballistic helmets and other equipment for the RRS. Unlike Operation Sweep, RRS does not use civilian vehicles, rather they use vehicles that are painted in RRS colours.
The government created the Lagos State Security Trust Fund to support the RRS. Private individuals and organisations can donate to the fund and the money is used to buy equipment for the Lagos State emergency services.
Fola Arthur-Worrey was the first executive secretary/CEO of the fund and he explained how it worked. He said that they didn't just go out to buy any equipment for the emergency services, rather they made the officers of the emergency services to state what they needed (because they were the experts in their field), then they would defend their demand before the members of the security trust fund.
The Lagos State Government bought patrol boats, a helicopter, armoured vehicles, bulletproof vests, walkie-talkies and other equipment for the squad. It bought Streit Armoured Vehicles for the squad and these were particularly effective.
There was a string of very violent bank robberies in Lagos. Robbers on boats attacked Oceanic Bank on Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, heavily armed robbers attacked UBA on Admiralty Way, Lekki and other banks in Lagos. This ended one day when robbers attacked a Union Bank in Lekki. The police simply blocked the entrance to the bank with a Streit armoured vehicle. The robbers fired several rounds into the vehicle, but it withstood the attack. They couldn't escape with their loot and car. The robbers eventually abandoned their loot and car and escaped on foot empty handed.
Governor Babatunde Fashola lamented that the Lagos State Government bought vehicles, walkie-talkies and other equipment for Operation Sweep, but the soldiers took them away when they returned to the barracks in 1999. He complained about Nigeria's federal police system. He said that the Lagos State Government spends a lot of money to train policemen of the RRS, but that those same policemen could be posted outside Lagos and the state could not do anything about it.
The Tinubu Administration created emergency numbers, 112 and 767, for LASAMBUS and these numbers were later extended to the RRS and the Lagos State Fire Service. It planned to build a control center for the emergency services, but it was not completed before it left office. The Fashola Administration commissioned the control center. The Ambode Administration provided surveillance drones for the RRS.
RRS policemen undergo regular and free health checkup, they are covered by insurance provided by the Lagos State Government and they are paid allowances by the state government.
Olatunji Disu was commander of the Lagos State RRS from 13 June 2015 – 2 August 2021
He made the RRS people friendly. During his tenure RRS policemen assisted people who had breakdowns on Third Mainland Bridge. They helped people to change their tyres, watched over them as they repaired their vehicles, etc. During the COVID-19 lockdown they rushed a pregnant woman, who was in labour but couldn't get any transport, to hospital. They were polite and courteous. Lagosians referred to them as the Good Guys.
Tunji Disu was always available online to listen to complaints. Once a friend of mine was jogging in Lekki and an RRS vehicle drove on the sidewalk and against traffic and almost hit her. She complained to Tunji Disu online and he ensured that the team was identified and reprimanded.
27s_ratio
I can still remember those days when Armed Robbers will rob all the house in a street
A lot of young people don't know how dangerous Lagos was in the 90s
anonimi: Why should sensible Nigerian won't be happy with this misplaced priority for a country that leads globally in extreme poverty paupers and out of school children
DeLaRue: On trips to and from the mainland recently, I was surprised not to see much traffic or hordes of pedestrians walking along main roads as it used to be.
Many parts of Lagos are gradually becoming more orderly.
Or are people migrating out of Lagos Many roads are generally less busy, which is good.
People are not migrating out of Lagos.
The roads seems less busy because the roads are getting better
Before this same Apapa Oshodi Expressway was rehabilitated, you can spend hours on the road
Brendaniel: It is their Obligation, they've been in power in Lagos since democracy started in 1999 and have been in power at the federal level for almost 11 years now, so who are they trying to blame for the past failure of not fixing it?
Look at them acting as though they just got into power, just look at the statement (if you truly knew how terrible it was before APC) as if they just started ruling yesterday, shameless people...
Guys like you just love Wailing and given yourself unnecessary High Blood Pressure
The Oshodi Apapa Expressway is a federal road and was repaired by the FG
yarimo: Obi wasn't given vip treatment in that occasion, instead of as usual first row . He was directed to third row with some vips security aides. all his media crew don't want to post where he was seated
AMINDA: he's president today because the Muslim majority votes in the North made him so with 5.6m votes. Atiku need not win the Southeast in a landslide to become president.
Asiwaju is the President today because Nigerians from the South and North voted him.
Only Asiwaju had at least 25% of the votes in more than 30 states
Muslim votes alone can't make a person the President Of Nigeria
Asiwaju and the APC will humble you and Atiku again like the way they did in 2023
AMINDA: Lol. The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway propaganda media machinery are on overdrive due to panic and trepidation. Tinubu and his minions are now realising that they made a mistake by frustrating Obi out of the Labour party. They are now desperate for Obi to run solo. Why not just leave him at LP where he was? They have now inadvertently united Atiku, Kwankwaso, Obi, Amaechi, Elrufai, etc under one umbrella and there are no answers for that beyond using the courts to stop the party. But that will be yet another strategic mistake.
Let Peter Obi come out to deny he ever held a meeting with him at Eko Hotel
Let Obi deny the news and call it Propaganda.
An inconsequential person on Nairaland can't be claiming it's Propaganda
Odin, only you will believe this is Lagos Ibadan expressway propaganda.
Common sense should tell you it truly happened but your hate for Asiwaju don't make you reason straight
European Football (EPL, UEFA, La Liga) › Re: PSG Vs Bayern Munich: UCL (5 - 4) On 28th April 2026 by Parachoko: 8:26pm On Apr 28
