The Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSA) has charged its corps officers to engage in regular bicycle and foot patrols to strengthen the community policing efforts of the agency.

Its general manager, Ifalade Oyekan, gave the charge on Friday while addressing officers during a bicycle patrol drill in the Ikorodu area of the state.

Over 50 participating officers rode from Benson through Ogolonto, Ebute-Igbobo, and continued with foot patrol from Borokinni to Ita-Elewa, Ayangburen to the agency’s local government office on Oriwu Road.

Mr Oyekan told journalists that the exercise was aimed at ensuring that officers used the bicycles regularly for community patrol, in addition to foot and vehicle patrol, as was done in the past when the agency was established.

He listed the benefits of the exercise to include increased accessibility, enhanced community engagement, crime prevention and deterrence, mobility and agility, and positive perception of the agency and its officers.

“When the LNSA was established, we were known for always riding our bicycles around communities every Tuesday and Thursday.

“But in recent times, we have had people asking and wondering what happened to them because they don’t see us using them for patrol.

“This is why we are encouraging our officers to put them to use because, with the bicycles, they can go deep into the communities to monitor what is happening.”

“When they do this regularly, members of the community will be reassured of our presence and they will have confidence in us that we are always on patrol. 

“We had gone to Lagos Island, Ikeja, Surulere and now we have done Ikorodu. We will extend the exercise to Badagry and Epe to cover all the five divisions,” he said.

Mr Oyekan disclosed that the agency was planning to hold a cycling competition in honour of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, where participating teams would be drawn from the 57 local government areas of the state.

He said the bicycle patrol was to get the officers physically fit and prepared for the competition coming up later in the year.

Mr Oyekan said that Gov. Sanwo-Olu was committed to the safety of lives and property of residents, as evidenced by the security and governance pillars of his administration’s THEMES Agenda.

He stressed said that the agency was committed to actualising this mandate through regular community engagement, patrol and intelligence gathering.

He called on residents to have confidence in the neighbourhood safety corps and to speak out fast when they noticed something unusual around them “because security is everybody’s business.”

(NAN)