By DEBORAH AKPEDE

The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Unit Taskforce has apprehended 22 suspected criminals using Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) terminals as hideouts.

The Chairman of the agency, CSP. Adetayo Akerele, disclosed this in a statement signed by the agency?s Director, Press and Public Affairs, Mr Abdulraheem Gbadeyan, on Sunday in Lagos.

Akerele said that in response to the complaints from the public on the illegal activities of the suspects, the taskforce took decisive action to restore safety in the Obalende area of the state.

?The raid was carried out in response to persistent complaints from residents of Obalende regarding the activities of hoodlums and miscreants who attack innocent citizens.

?The management of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) also sought the intervention of the Taskforce, as criminal elements had turned the BRT terminal in Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) into a hideout for their illicit activities.

?Acting swiftly, operatives of the task force raided the location on Saturday night and apprehended the suspects, who possessed harmful weapons and hard drugs on them.

?They had been using the terminal as a base to launch attacks on unsuspecting commuters and residents,? he said.

Akerele reiterated the state government?s commitment to ensuring the safety of Lagos residents and maintaining law and order across the state.

The chairman warned that any individual involved in criminal activities or making life difficult for law-abiding citizens would face the full wrath of the law.

The agency?s boss also assured the management of LAMATA and residents that routine patrols and surveillance by the agency would be channeled towards the area to forestall a recurrence of the ugly incidents that had been recorded in the past.

?I will ensure that other vulnerable BRT terminals across the state are routinely visited to prevent miscreants launching attacks on innocent Lagosians from there.? he said.

According to him, the task force remains resolute in its mandate to rid the state of crime and uphold security in all public spaces.

?Residents are encouraged to continue reporting suspicious activities in the environment through the agency?s feedback channels to collectively maintain the decorum widely witnessed in the metropolis,? he said. (NAN)