BY ROTIMI DUROJAIYE
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has directed the
Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, to immediately redeploy the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Lafenwa Divisional Police Office, for aiding and abetting crime and criminality in Lafenwa market and its environ.
He also ordered the arrest of all misceants involved in setting on fire a petrol tanker that exploded and claimed many souls on Sunday.
Kunle Somorin, the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, said Abiodun who gave the directive when he visited the spot of Sunday’s tanker fire incident, said there are many of reports against the DPO, stating that he (DPO), is not effective and efficient in carrying out his statutory duty of managing the area.
“There are complaints against the Divisional Police Officer(DPO) here, I want that DPO investigated. I also want him removed from this place, because this is not the first time that complaints have been levelled against him.
“We gotten several complains against about how he mismanaged this place, particularly as it pertains to miscreants that come and disturb the traders, he will arrest them, within five and ten minutes, he releases them and that is why this place has continued to be restive because the thuggery in this place has not been contained.
“I want the CP to declare an emergency here in Lafenwa, I want every miscreant arrested because this kind of situation is totally unacceptable where a tanker overturns, fuel that is highly inflammable is flowing through the drainage and someone willfully ignites it so that he can cause chaos and begin to loot the market, this is very bad, it is just not acceptable, it is criminal” the governor fumed.
He regretted that people would be so heartless by setting fire on the tanker when efforts by security and fire personel were on to salvage the situation, adding that the sole aim of the perpetuators was not only to loot, but to destroy things in the market.
While calling for full investigation, Abiodun urged the Police Commissioner to “ensure that everybody involved in this heinous crime is arrested and brought to book, saying “we must make an example of them.”
The governor described the loss of lives as unfortunate noting that both the federal and state fire trucks were damaged by the hoodlums who prevented fire trucks and men of TRACE from sealing off the area and protecting the tanker from going up inflames.
He gave the Commissioner of Transportation and TRACE three days, to carry out an investigation into the immediate cause of the accident to find out the true cause of the inferno.
The governor, while commiserating with the traders who lost valuables in the fire incident, directed the commissioner for special duties to take inventory of all goods lost promising to provide palliative for them
In his response, the Babaloja of Lafenwa market, Musa Adeyinka, recounted the loss during the incident and thanked the governor for coming around to sympathize with the market people.
