Lagos State Government has advised religious organizations on the use of metal detectors and other security gadgets as part of measures to avert Boko Haram attack in the state.
Commissioner for Home affairs and Culture, Mr. Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Lateef made the appeal Tuesday, during a meeting with religious leaders in the state at the ministry’s office in Alausa, Ikeja.
He said, “We would advise churches, mosques and other worship centers in Lagos State to buy metal detectors, and to employ more security personnel to ensure that extremists or terrorists do not have their way in Lagos. This is because they know how to target soft spots.
“No place is safe unless residents of the community are proactive and vigilant. Now is the time to be very security concious. Vigilance is the key word now.
“You must employ personnel that would be trained on how to use the metal detector in order to ensure that no one come into your worship center with any explosives.
“Considering the status of Lagos, many have seen the state as the best place to live. So, on your part as religious leaders, you must know the statistics of the worshippers in your centers because insurgency is a major challenge.”
“On our part, we will be creating a data base for all religious institutions in Lagos State. The enumerating exercise will afford us the opportunity to know the number of religious outfits in the state and where they are.
“We would be partnering with religious associations in the state to set standards religious house in Lagos. Partnering with the religious association will afford us the opportunity to regulate the activities of religious institutions so as to safeguard the welfare of people who come to worship and not endanger it.
“Because without your input, without your agreement, without partnership, there is no way things can work. We are ready to work together; there is no dictator in democratic government,” he added.
The warning by Lagos government may not be unconnected to with the arrest of 45 suspected Boko Haram members by the Department of State Services.
They were accused of planning to bomb, among others, Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos.
The suspects, charged to a Lagos State Magistrate’s Court sitting in Isolo on Friday, have been sent to Kirikiri prisons in the state.