The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Olohundare Moshood Jimoh, on Wednesday said plans were underway to establish police desks in all state-owned hospitals and tertiary institutions across the state.
CP Jimoh said the initiative was aimed at eliminating delays in the treatment of accident and gunshot victims caused by procedural requirements.
The CP spoke at the Lagos Campus Security and Safety Summit 1.0 organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Students’ Union Affairs – Tertiary Education, Comrade Kappo S. Olawale.
The summit, held at the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Ikeja, was attended by representatives of students from state-owned tertiary institutions; the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Hon. Tolani Sule; Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Dr Ayodele Ogunsan; Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Students’ Union Affairs – Tertiary Education, Mr Kappo Olawale; and guest lecturer, Prof Adedeji Oyenuga, a criminologist from Lagos State University.
Speaking, Jimoh said the move would eliminate delays in obtaining police reports for victims of accidents or violence and ensure a quick response to security issues on campuses.
Jimoh said, ‘I adopted a strategy that we hope to implement very soon for us to have police desks in all the hospitals so that this issue of not wanting to treat people, maybe as a result of an accident or gunshot, will be eliminated.’
‘On this, I urge the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund to assist us so that in every hospital that belongs to the state, we will have our police officers there. Once there is any issue, you don’t need to go and look for any Divisional Police Officer because most of the time, we are not happy to have people pass away because of procedural matters.’
He added that the Command would engage the State Commissioner for Tertiary Education to establish police desks in tertiary institutions across the state.
Noting that campus security was a pressing concern, he said the police regularly handled cases including physical attacks, armed robbery, drug abuse, cyber security breaches, phishing scams, student unrest and sexual harassment.
‘I want to also say to Chief Security Officers of the state-owned tertiary institutions that we are going to keep in touch with the Commissioner for Education to open up police desks in all campuses,’ Jimoh said.
Addressing drug abuse among some students, the CP said post-UTME screening should include behavioural and security checks for intending students.
Jimoh said, ‘I think that the screening we call post-UTME should be expanded to include behavioural and security assessments. If we screen them accurately, we will have fewer people involved in violence. Those who become drug addicts did not just start on campus; many started from their homes. If the screening is thorough, we will be able to identify drug addicts at the point of entry.’
To enhance campus safety, Jimoh urged tertiary institutions to improve lighting within and around campuses and ensure that security architecture is embedded in campus design.
The Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Sule, stressed the need to strengthen campus security proactively to identify risks before they escalate.Sule said campus security should not be seen as surveillance by security agents but as a shared responsibility of all members of the campus community.
He explained that the summit was convened in recognition of the fact that campus security challenges had evolved from cultism and violent behaviour to cybercrime recruitment and drug abuse.
Earlier in his keynote speech, the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, declared that campus security in Nigeria must now be treated as ‘a strategic national priority,’ rather than a mere ‘administrative function’ warning that evolving threats on university campuses mirror the pressures and risks within the wider society.
According to him, ‘The pressures, opportunities, and risks that exist in the wider society naturally find expression within campus environments. Cyber-enabled crimes, drug abuse networks, sexual misconduct, and organised criminal infiltration do not stop at campus gates.’
He insisted that campus security must evolve beyond traditional approaches. ‘The era of purely reactive security is no longer sufficient. Institutions must now embrace strategic security which is built on foresight, intelligence, prevention, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making,’ he said.