By Ebinum Samuel
The commissioner of police for Lagos state, Olarewaju Adewale Ishola, has been commended for taking the bull by the horn to chased out drug peddlers in Gowon Estate near Egbeda .
Describing the action of the CP as “uncommon, unique and unprecedented, the president of Lagos state Police Auctioneers Association, Chief Godwin Odunwa, disclosed that for close to one and half decades, drug peddlers on 31 Road axis of Gowon Estate had not only turned the area and the neighborhoods to criminalsl hideout with the sales of hard drugs in these places unchecked by security agencies, but became a threat to passersby, residents and landlords.
“These drug peddlers became law unto themselves for a very long time in the area. They operated an open market where drug dealers from other parts of the country such as Kano, Ibadan Ilorin, Benin-city and other places come to patronise them in illicit business” said Odunwa.
The Auctioneer revealed that a good number of the drug peddlers chased out of Gowon Estate by police operatives migrated from the popular oju-ina area of Lagos Island.
“When the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola descended on drug peddlers some years back, most of the peddlers moved to new abodes such as Agege, Ikeja, Mile12, Okokomaiko, Ikorodu and Gowon Estate” said Odunwa.
Echoing Odunwa a landlord on Blessed Jah street, who simply gave his name as Joel told Newstower. ng that for over 10 years, landlords with their tenants had sleepless nights over the activities of the drug peddlers.
He disclosed that whenever they were arrested, their leader who he claimed is very wealthy will ‘settle’ security agents who made the arrest.
“We thank God for using a good police chief
to come to our aid here in Gowon Estate” Joel said.
Another landlord who pleaded anonymity said that the dislodged criminals hardly spend two hours with security agents before bouncing back to business in the past.
Joel, while hailing the police under CP Ishola called on the police chief to invade notorious spot in Kokumo street , Alimosho. He said the presence of bad boys there pose a grave threat to law abiding citizens.
Also showering encomiums on Isholaand his men, a resident of WaleOmoOsho street, James Adeyemi told this reporter that he’s not surprised about the action of the police under Ishola, who he said is a tested and proactive officer when he was the DPO in charge of Gowon police station some 15 years back