Edgal: Garlands for Lagos Super Cop in Gambia

Edgal: Garlands for Lagos Super Cop in Gambia

By Emma Nnadozie, Crime Editor

He was the cynosure of all eyes, last week, at the 15th Security Watch Africa Award Conference and Exhibition in the Gambia where he bagged two awards for his crime fighting efforts in Lagos State, South West of Nigeria. The Golden Star Award for Urban Crime Control in Africa and the Most Outstanding Urban Crime Control Command in West and Central Africa were presented to him by the Permanent Secretary, State House and Chief of Staff to the President, Republic of the Gambia, Alhaji Balli Dibba at the Kairaba Beach Hotel, Banjul.

Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, CP Imohimi Edgal

It was a spectacularly colourful event which had no fewer than three governors from Nigeria and security experts. For Imohimi Edgal, Lagos State police boss, it was a well deserved honour going by the quantum of achievements he had recorded within his two years of policing the seemingly volatile state. His track records are so overwhelming and verifiable to the extent that they are turning into a milestone.

From Day 1

On assumption of duty, Edgal proved sceptics wrong as a newly appointed Commissioner of Police by coming out from all fronts, shooting from all cylinders and bestrode crime scenes with diligent vigour. However, his gigantic strides did not come as a surprise to those who knew him as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in the state as he had played recognizable roles in dismantling the hydra- headed, vicious and bloody onslaught of militants who operated freely from the creeks at Ikorodu area of the state and environs.  Remarkably, as the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations, he planned and led the operations that pummelled and scattered the devilish militants from the creeks of Ilaje and Ikorodu. Then, on assumption of duty as Commissioner of Police, he moved and, in no distant time, sounded the death knell for the dreaded Badoo cult that was ravaging Ikorodu and other suburbs in the state.

Tackling crime situations

Consequently, he embarked on programs and actions that were poignantly specific and succeeded in tackling headlong, the crime wave in the state. Pointedly, he took the bull by the horn and embarked on far reaching measures aimed at curtailing the excesses of criminals in all nooks and crannies of the state. He kicked off by taking the community policing crusade to every part of the state through numerous town hall meetings with the people in the area commands. This way, CP Edgal was able to convince the people to join hands with the police to stamp out cultism, kidnapping, armed robbery etc. Thus, the people were forthcoming with information which crystallized into intelligence report on the activities of criminals. The success story is not only in getting information that led to the arrest of numerous criminals, but that the people, comprising traditional rulers, opinion leaders, stakeholders and Local government chairmen went the extra mile to convince their wards who are involved in crime to turn a new leaf. This paid off as scores of hardened and notorious criminals either surrendered to the voice of reason or paid the prize for it. Significantly, the dreaded and bloody activities of rampaging cult groups was adequately checked to the extent that no fewer than 609 cultists were arrested while 1,800 of them were profiled after surrendering their dangerous weapons, within one year.

Key internal challenges

The key internal challenge which entailed looking inwards into the men and women of the command to rebuild their confidence and self esteem was also decisively addressed. He developed a clear, precise, concise and achievable mission of relative crime- free Lagos State, along with coherent , practicable strategies for bringing that about and getting police men and women in the command, particularly DPOs and Area Commanders and State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department, SCIID, to truly buy in on his vision and strategies. The buy-in introduced some elements of objective passion in the disposition of police men and women and their different tiers of commanders to their work, which turned out to be better than the usual lethargic, humdrum, nonchalant disposition often encountered with them.

Working with local vigilante groups

An encouraging aspect of his ability to surmount the operational challenges which, of course, had to do with his previous experience as a Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations in the state, was the thrust towards working with local vigilante groups in routing deadly criminal elements. He succeeded in doing that to the extent that he never allowed them to outsource or parcel out its work and responsibilities. Furthermore, he made his men maintain sufficient professional distance that enabled them crack down on the vigilance groups whenever they stray beyond or outside the law.

Synergy with govt, IGP

Interestingly, CP Edgal devised a formulae that enabled him develop a synergy and work with the state government in building the technical and forensic skills, knowledge and competence of officers in the command. He applied same synergy with his boss in Abuja, and both are working seamlessly towards building a better force in the state and Nigeria.   His pursuit of excellence in fighting crime is such that at present, there are fewer isolated or black spots in the state and the fatality on injury rate of policemen during encounters with armed criminals have reduced drastically. He devised multi-disciplinary and multi-faceted crime endeavors involving residents of the state, all institutions, coercive and non-coercive agencies of the state, in its different dimensions and degrees, to the delight of all. Thus, measures undertaken by many of his predecessors in the state look largely cosmetic, considering that they neither went deep enough nor offered fundamental understanding and revitalization of the operations of different units of the force.

In all the strategies he mapped out, he took wide-ranging measures aimed at demonstrating their compliance. He was pro-active in tackling its multiple facets.

Symbolic honour

It is, therefore, quite appropriate and wondrously symbolic that CP Edgal was honoured in far away Gambia in a manner that police authorities and Nigerians should find perfect consequence in the existential odyssey of the forces as represented by his achievements so far. Consequently in their euphoric response to this achievement, Crime Watch Africa considered such a man with prodigious capacity for excellence in policing, a man of spectacular endowment who embarked on all out-war against crime wave in Lagos State with such an exalted honour. An officer with no airs or pretentions, there is always something about this charismatic and tantalizingly talented officer, Edgal, which stood him out from other crime fighters in Nigeria and beyond.

Salute to excellence

He has what is known as star quality which cannot be faked or duplicated. He has certainly been doing ordinary things in a way that makes them look unique and extra-ordinary. His restless quest for excellence and perfection in policing often turns him into a compulsively obsessive character. Luckily, he enjoys widespread reputation as a courageous officer. Let’s rise and render three thunderous salutes to a Super Cop, Imohimi Oluwole Edgal, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State.