Lagos State Task Force on Environment and Other Special Offences Unit yesterday arrested 132 miscreants.
Fifty-nine of those arrested were arraigned in the Special Offences Court sitting in Alausa, Ikeja. Twenty-three under-aged miscreants were referred to the correctional homes for rehabilitation in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development.
Thirty-five were arrested in Agege, Oshodi, Pen Cinema, Oko-Oba and Bariga; 20 were earlier arrested in Oshodi and other parts of the state. Fourteen hoodlums were caught in Oshodi with Indian hemp.
Task Force Chairman Mr Akeem Adedeji, a Superintendent of Police, said the arrest followed complaints on the rise in crime rate. Government, he added, would not fold its arms and allow criminals to overrun the state.
According to him, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is committed to protection of lives and properties in order to attract more investors and make life easy for residents
He said some of the suspects would be screened before being charged to court, adding: “It is better to allow criminals to go scot free than to punish the innocent.”
The 23 under-aged boys, he said, would be referred to juvenile homes for rehabilitation, adding that most of the “young miscreants” are between ages 12 and 15 and from broken homes.
Adedeji said: “The unfortunate part of the story is that these kids all have tattoos conspicuous on their bodies. They either have it on their arms and their foreheads. Many of them have on their chest. While most of them have distinctive features to show their superiority in the parks or their enclaves.
“Our investigations so far revealed that they all belong to a secret cult called ‘Awon Boys’ where they operate in order of their ranks and superiority. This is glaring in the tattoos on their bodies. I wonder where our society is heading to with the growing number of these young miscreants.”
He added that the hoodlums, popularly called “Area Boys” are suspected to have been terrorising residents.
Adedeji said the government took steps again, especially in Oshodi to sanitise the state, explaining that the measure became necessary following public complaints about the rising cases of robbery in Oshodi, especially at night.
He urged Lagosians not to relent in giving tips on criminal hideouts, saying the task force is ready to follow up.
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