Lagos State: 1 Police station to 121,913 citizens

Oshodi, Mushin, Agege, Shomolu and Kosofe Local Government Areas (LGA) record ever-increasing number of violent events and deaths;
A single police station in Lagos protects an averagely 121,913 people and this reduces police efficiency;
Police resources in Lagos not commensurate to population;
Ensuing insecurity threatens Lagos state’s advancement.

Unending traffic and flooding are not the only challenges indigenes of Africa’s largest city have to worry about. Over the past few years, Lagos recorded a significantly high number of violent cases and now we know why. For every police station in Lagos, there are 31,180 Households and 121,913 people to be protected. So while Nigeria’s economic hub may be the fastest-growing state in the world because of its population, this same populace may very well be its undoing as insecurity threatens its prosperity.

A recent article by Dataphyte showed Lagos led the record of violent attacks in Nigeria between 2006 and 2019. The report which analysed data received from Nigeria watch showed that Ikeja, Ikorodu, Alimosho and Oshodi-Isolo recorded the highest number of violent attacks.

As of 2019, Lagos State has a population of 12,922,780 people with 3,336,299 households; an average household size consisting of 3.9 people per household as shown by analysis data obtained from NBS. A further breakdown revealed 3,928,529 people were within the age group of 0 – 14. Ages 15 to 29 constituted 3,812,220 people; 2,623,326 people correspond to ranges 30 – 44; 1,667,039 for ages 45 – 59. And 891,668 people belong to the age group 60+ and above.

The Security Challenge

Image: Lagos State population and police stations

Lagos has only 107 police stations protecting this population; meaning one police station serves 31,180 Households and 121,913 people. Ikeja, Ikorodu, Alimosho and Oshodi/Isolo LGA recorded the highest number of violent event cases as shown by analysis of data gathered by Nigeria Watch between 2006 and 2019; although all local government areas (LGA) in Lagos recorded a high number of cases.

Image: Number of cases of violent attacks recorded across the Lagos State

Ikeja

From the analysis of data gotten from Nigeria Watch, Ikeja recorded the highest number of cases of violent attacks. Ikeja with a population of 450,365 people, 115,233 households and 3.9 people per household has only 13 police stations. Hence for every police station, there are 34,643 people and 8,864 households to be protected. A better police station to household ratio would better help in preventing these cases of violent attacks.

Oshodi/Isolo

Oshodi/Isolo which has a population of 891987 people, 232425 households and an average household consisting of 3.8 people has only 5 police stations in the entire LGA. This implies that for every police station in the LGA, there are 178,297 people and 46,485 households to be protected. Oshodi/Isolo recorded 395 cases of violent attacks

Mushin

Mushin, Agege and Shomolu account for just two police stations. What’s more, Kosofe region had a single station! Mushin has a population of 895952, 234308 households with an average household size of 3.8 people. Just two police stations are not adequate for protection as a single police station has to protect 447,976 people and 117,154 households. The math doesn’t add up; resources are not commensurate.

Similarly, Agege, Shomolu and Kosofe suffer the same plight where the police struggle to keep the peace. The same regions recorded a vast number of violent events and deaths as a result.

Image: Total Number of Cases of Violent Attacks and Deaths In Mushin Per Year

Image: Total Number of Cases of Violent Attacks and Deaths In Oshodi per Year

Insecurity threatens the advancement of Lagos

Data clearly shows that police resources are not commensurate to population. From an article written here by Vanguard, the former Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, was quoted saying “the Nigeria Police requires additional 155,000 personnel to adequately provide security for the country”.

He added that “Over the years, the Nigerian Police Force, saddled with the responsibility of policing the country, has been grappling with fundamental challenges which tend to impede its performance”.

Worse, though, are the missed investment opportunities resulting from these inadequacies. In one instance, the World Bank remarked how over 36% of investors in Nigeria saw insecurity as a deterrent. And by implication, an increase in these events will surely turn away potential investors. To protect the interest of potential investors, the government must make the even establishment of police stations across the state a priority.