State-owned assets and businesses in Lagos are reported to have undergone damage and recorded huge losses due to the spate of plundering by hoodlums. This is in spite of the huge sum donated by the private sector to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) in 2019 and 2020.
The unavailability of security personnel to curtail the excesses of hoodlums has led to the destruction of several government assets, businesses, and malls in Victoria Island, Lekki, Surulere, and other areas, leading to huge losses that cannot be instantly quantified.
The Lagos State Government on September 3, 2007, had established the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) as a public-private-partnership (PPP) initiative to provide equipment and resources for effective operations of security agencies in the state.
The financial audit statement of LSSTF in 2019, revealed that it generated the sum N4.2b for the year with cash donations from the private sector amounting to N1.43b and other takings at about N2.74b.
However, the Organised Private Sector (OPS) lamented that a high level of insecurity, with its attendant collateral damages to infrastructure and property, amounted to higher costs of doing business.
Abdurrazaq Balogun, the Executive Secretary/CEO of LSSTF, who requested funds last year, stated that there was a hitch in the donations between August 2018 and August 2019, revealing that the intervention of the current Governor attracted excess donations of about N1.5b within three months.
He further noted that ‘For a mega city like Lagos, the Police-Personnel-Population ratio of 1:400 with an estimated population of about 24 million, constitutes a security issue that must be the concern of well-meaning Nigerians.’
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He emphasized that ‘Hence the LSSTF envisioned more highly trained men and women working with modern logistics support, with cooperation and collaboration with other stakeholders.’
He said, ‘Pursuant to this, the LSSTF has been investing hugely in the empowerment of the various security agencies in the state.’