By Zik Gbemre

…The Police have a duty to respond against likely any breach of public peace anywhere including moving into private estates.

…Gov Sanwo-Olu got it wrong in joining the estate residents to stop the police from doing its job.*_

…The Governor role as Chief Security Officer of Lagos does not give him the power to restrain the police from doing its job.

…For those who felt police had no business entering a private estate, if there is a case of robbery or violence in the place, who has the primary duty to arrest the situation if not the police?

With due respect to His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, I think he got it wrong on the Magodo Estate crisis in the desperation to be seen as being on the side of the people in Tuesday’s police, residents crisis at the Magodo Estate Lagos.

The Nigerian police have the power to patrol. The Commissioner of Police is the Chief Police Officer in Lagos state. He has a duty to protect lives and property. They can enter anywhere to prevent crime if they have reliable information on breaches, especially of public of peace.

In advanced countries that is what police do without unnecessary executive interference. They have the authority to respond to distress calls anywhere.

And as Chief Security Officer of a state, Sanwo-Olu has authority to mobilise the police to arrest any breach of public peace in his, but that executive authority does not vest in the Governor, the power to restrain the police from doing its job which is what transpired in the Magodo instance.

Even if a private property is under security threat, police have the right to move in. The Magodo Estate is not an estate owned by an individual. It is a collection of private homes owned by a group of landlords. If there is a threat or breach of law and order in the estate, who else if not the police has the primary duty to move in.

If there were robbers invasion of the said estate, the first institution to call is the police to move in to check the breach. In this instance how did the trouble start? The State Commissioner of Police needed to enter the estate. He didn’t attempt entering secretly. He came in an official presence with his team. Why should anyone, least of all private guards deny him entry?

They say anyone who goes to equity must go with clean hands. If the Magodo estate stakeholders had nothing to hide, why deny the Lagos state commissioner of police entry into a private estate.

Can private guards prevent crime in the estate? If there is a crime in the estate, can the private guards stop the crime without calling in the police?

For me, those who were protesting because the police wanted to move into the estate deserve arrest, thorough investigation and possible prosecution.

The point is, what happened in that estate is more than meets the ordinary eye. It requires thorough investigation to know what truly transpired. Sanwo-Olu acting on impulse, to be seen as being with the people, didn’t need all the drama he put up.

If anything, he needed to be on the side of the law. The best way to do that was to ask the police to move in to see what brought them into Magodo Estate under his watch. That way, with his presence, he would know whether the Lagos CP and his men came in for a lawful duty or sinister motive.


Zik Gbemre.*_
January 5, 2022*_


_*We _*-By Zik Gbemre*_

*MAGODO ESTATE BROUHAHA: POLICE HAS DUTY TO DO THEIR JOB*

 _*The Police have a duty to respond against likely any breach of public peace anywhere including moving into private estates.*_

 _*Gov Sanwo-Olu got it wrong in joining the estate residents to stop the police from doing its job.*_

 _*The Governor role as Chief Security Officer of Lagos does not give him the power to restrain the police from doing its job.*_

 _*For those who felt police had no business entering a private estate, if there is a case of robbery or violence in the place, who has the primary duty to arrest the situation if not the police?*_

With due respect to His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, I think he got it wrong on the Magodo Estate crisis in the desperation to be seen as being on the side of the people in Tuesday’s police, residents crisis at the Magodo Estate Lagos.

The Nigerian police have the power to patrol. The Commissioner of Police is the Chief Police Officer in Lagos state. He has a duty to protect lives and property. They can enter anywhere to prevent crime if they have reliable information on breaches, especially of public of peace.

In advanced countries that is what police do without unnecessary executive interference. They have the authority to respond to distress calls anywhere.

And as Chief Security Officer of a state, Sanwo-Olu has authority to mobilise the police to arrest any breach of public peace in his, but that executive authority does not vest in the Governor, the power to restrain the police from doing its job which is what transpired in the Magodo instance.

Even if a private property is under security threat, police have the right to move in. The Magodo Estate is not an estate owned by an individual. It is a collection of private homes owned by a group of landlords. If there is a threat or breach of law and order in the estate, who else if not the police has the primary duty to move in.

If there were robbers invasion of the said estate, the first institution to call is the police to move in to check the breach. In this instance how did the trouble start? The State Commissioner of Police needed to enter the estate. He didn’t attempt entering secretly. He came in an official presence with his team. Why should anyone, least of all private guards deny him entry?

They say anyone who goes to equity must go with clean hands. If the Magodo estate stakeholders had nothing to hide, why deny the Lagos state commissioner of police entry into a private estate.

Can private guards prevent crime in the estate? If there is a crime in the estate, can the private guards stop the crime without calling in the police?

For me, those who were protesting because the police wanted to move into the estate deserve arrest, thorough investigation and possible prosecution.

The point is, what happened in that estate is more than meets the ordinary eye. It requires thorough investigation to know what truly transpired. Sanwo-Olu acting on impulse, to be seen as being with the people, didn’t need all the drama he put up.

If anything, he needed to be on the side of the law. The best way to do that was to ask the police to move in to see what brought them into Magodo Estate under his watch. That way, with his presence, he would know whether the Lagos CP and his men came in for a lawful duty or sinister motive.

Zik Gbemre.
anuary 5, 2022


We Mobilize Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes*_ Others To Fight For Individual Causes As If Those Were Our Causes