Lagosians develop interest in criminals’ weekly parade

Some paraded criminalsOlalekan Olabulo writes on the weekly parade of criminals in the Centre of Excellence and how residents look forward to each parade, which they hope could serve as deterrent to would-be criminals in the state.

The weekly parade of criminals arrested in sev
eral parts of Lagos State initiated by the im mediate past commissioner of police in the state Muhammed Abubakar, has grown to be a very important subject of discussion and spectacle among the residents of the state while residents of neighbouring states also share the different tales of the paraded criminals. The parade has become an every Thursday ritual for spectators who have seen the exercise as a free show.

The former commissioner of police in Lagos State, Muhammed Abubakar, who has since been promoted to the post of an Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and drafted to the Zone 2 headquarters at Onikan, had introduced the weekly parade of criminals arrested in all the divisions and area commands of the state. Under the parade system, all divisional police officers and area commanders are mandated to bring their arrested suspects to the Ikeja headquarters of the command for the Thursday meeting where journalists are properly briefed.

The parade has generated a lot discussions and controversies as some of the suspects paraded before the media often denied their involvement in some of the allegations levelled against them. Notwithstanding , the Thursday weekly parade has become a very attractive exercise to the public. On this day of the week, revelations on the activities of some of the dare-devil armed robbers who on daily basis wreak havoc on law-abiding residents of the state are heard.

The former CP had, during one of the Thursday parade, highlighted its importance to include an avenue for the police in the state to constantly strategise against the activities of the bandits while also showcasing the achievements of the police in the state. Also, the parade, according to a senior police officer, is aimed at scaring robbers and criminals from the state Lagos Life, while assessing the impact of the Thursday parade discovered that a large number of the residents of the state have developed a deep interest in the exercise. Some of them even compare it with some of the soap operas being aired. The exercise has grown to become a constant item in the news bulletin of some of the TV and radio stations in the state.

Some of the residents who had had nasty experiences in the hands of bandits in some parts of the state watch the parade in anticipation of seeing some of their assailants and having the last laugh. The parade is even seen by some as an avenue for parents to monitor the activities of their wards who are far away from them. Mike Obederu, a resident of the state while speaking with Lagos Life commended the police for the Thursday parade which he claimed allowed him to know some of the things happening in several parts of the state.

He narrated that one of such parades had allowed him to know the antics of dare devil robbers who operate along the Lagos-Badagry expressway Mike, who reside in one of the towns along the Lagos-Badagry expressway informed Lagos Life that a gang of robbers who were arrested along the expressway had, during a parade, confessed that they hid some pointed objects which were covered with black nylon to trap some of their victims. This, according to him, had helped in guiding him against falling victim of such antics, not only on that road but on some other roads in the state.

Another resident, Madam Grace who claimed to be a keen follower of the weekly parade informed Lagos Life that the exercise has allowed her the opportunity of enriching her experiences on the activities of the robbers in the state . She equally added that the parade is now being used by mothers in the state as a reference point to warn their children as no child would want to be watched on the TV with handcuffs tied around his wrists and legs.

The woman stated that the weekly parade serves as a way of controlling the activities of unscrupulous policemen in the state . He explained that some policemen are used to detaining their suspects for a long period of time, thereby extorting money from family members of such suspects whereas the weekly parade has made it compulsory for all divisions and area commands to bring forward their arrested criminals to the command headquarters for assessment and parade.

A senior police officer who spoke with Lagos Life under the condition of anonymity stated that the weekly parade allows a forum for the state commissioner of police to meet with some of the innocent suspects who might have been clamped in the cells by mischievous policemen. According to him, the former CP had on several occasions released some innocent victims brought for parade.

Some residents have also expressed their reservations about what they describe as "unconstitutional" since many of the suspects who often deny the offences levelled against them have not been convicted by a law court. This set of people are hinging their reservations on the fact that it is very possible for the police to arrest an innocent person and parade him the next day to cover up for their lapses.

Lucky Obodo, a legal practitioner in the state while speaking with Lagos Life on the arrest and parade of criminals in the state by the police totally disagreed with the idea of the parade before such suspects are taken to the law court. In his words, “parading the suspects before they are convicted means that the police have taken the law into their hands, thereby prosecuting the suspects.”

He however sees nothing wrong in parading a self-confessed suspect who admit to his criminal acts willingly. The new AIG in charge of Zone 2 while speaking on the parade of innocent victims exonerated the state police command of the blame. He stated that in most cases the suspects would have confessed to the police before denying it in public. He also urged members of the public to assist the police in discerning the culpability of some of the suspects.

Abubakar also noted that the purpose of the parade is not to create a false representation of the Lagos State police command to the police high authority but one of the strategies put in place to combat crime as the parade allows constant appraisal of the activities of the different divisions and areas in the state.

The parade however has its telling effects on journalists who on daily basis besiege divisional police stations and area command offices for crime stories, as such stories are now reserved for the Thursday briefing where the idea of exclusive story is erased. Now that a new Commissioner of Police has been posted to the Centre of Excellence, the question in the minds of many residents is: Will he continue the parade which has exposed the criminals within the state?