Nigeria sweeps up its mean streets
July 1, 1997
Web posted at: 2:27 p.m. EDT (1827 GMT)From Reporter Bob Coen
LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Lawlessness, gangs and gruesome slayings once plagued the Nigerian capital of Lagos. But last year, authorities launched a war on crime, and the bandits appear to be losing.
The streets are safer thanks to Operation Sweep, a task force of 4,000 specially trained men from the nation's police, Army, Navy and Air Force.
"Operation Sweep -- that means sweep away all these criminal elements within the society," said Ibrahim Coomasie, the inspector general of Nigerian police.
Operation Sweep in action...
1 MB/24 sec. QuickTime movie
Since the operation began, the number of armed robberies reported has dropped from 10 per night to two. Car thefts have plummeted from 20 reports per night to two, according to authorities.
Lagos is one of the fastest growing cities in the world, with a population exceeding 10 million. But as its population boomed and high rises, expressways and sprawling markets popped up, crime ran out of control.
"It was terrible," said one resident, who did not give his name. "I mean you couldn't walk about freely. Pickpockets and armed bandits (were) all over the place."
"This was a city under siege," added Col. Mohammed Marwa, the Harvard educated military administrator who organized the operation. "(Bandits) would really, with reckless abandon, attack at will, day and night. They were practically in charge."
But the daily war against crime has ridden the city of much of its past reputation. Linked to a central control room by radio, Operation Sweep is ready to react at any time. Its troops patrol the huge metropolis round the clock.
Another factor in the success of the operation has been the establishment of more than 100 checkpoints throughout Lagos, making it difficult for fleeing criminals to escape the city.
"In the past if you were attacked by armed robbers on the road in the night and you lived to tell the story, people didn't sympathize with you. They blamed you," Marwa said. "Now these things have changed."
And though checkpoints cause traffic to snarl on already crowded roads, residents don't seem to mind.
"Nobody is going to harass you. No more armed robbery. Nobody is going to snatch your car," said one resident who was stopped at a checkpoint.
Related stories:
- Bomb wounds 8 in Nigeria - February 12, 1997
- Nigerian junta charges Nobel winner, dissidents with bombings - March 12, 1997
- Nigerian workers release hostages - December 28, 1997
Related sites:
- Nigeria - Incidence and Trends in Crime
- Nigeria - Crime, Corruption, and Political Turbulence
- Nigeria - A Country Study
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