Abduction: How I Made Lagos Safer as Governor — Fashola Says Governors Can’t Abdicate Security Responsibility

By Ibrahim Salaudeen, Lagos

Former Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), has insisted that governors across Nigeria have a constitutional duty to protect lives and property within their states, stressing that they cannot abdicate that responsibility.

Fashola spoke on Friday during a panel discussion at The Platform Nigeria Special June 12 Lecture held in Lagos.

The event, themed “Governance, Democracy, National Security,” was organised by the Covenant Christian Centre led by Pastor Poju Oyemade as part of activities marking Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration.

The Daily Crucible reports that Fashola’s intervention in Nigeria’s worsening insecurity debate, especially amid the wave of kidnappings and abductions across states such as Oyo State, Kwara State, Kogi State and much of Northwestern Nigeria, challenges the long-standing tendency of Nigerian governors to argue that security is exclusively a federal responsibility because the police, military, and intelligence architecture are constitutionally controlled by Abuja.

His position is a rebuttal to the “we are powerless” narrative Governors frequently complain that they are called “chief security officers” of their states without commanding the police. By invoking his experience in Lagos State, the ex – governor appears to reject the idea that governors are helpless

Speaking on governance and security management, the former Minister of Works and Housing said his administration in Lagos prioritised security through consistent planning, data gathering, and collaboration with stakeholders.

“The Constitution prescribes that we are chief security officers of our states, and we can’t walk away from that. I accepted that title, and I did as much as I could with my team to make this place safer.

“We used to have a monthly security meeting. In eight years, we never missed that meeting. We took data every month,” Fashola said.

Fashola explained that one of the major initiatives of his government was the establishment of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, which brought together both government and private sector players to support security operations across the state.

According to him, tackling insecurity required more than weapons and security hardware, noting that strategic government policies also played a critical role in crime prevention.

He cited the introduction of cashless transactions in Lagos as one of the innovative measures his administration adopted to reduce criminal activities.

“We were the first to start the cashless policy because we found a way of making people get cash away from their homes, so there was no incentive. They don’t get abducted from their homes,” he said.
“It was not just a battle won with arms and guns, it was also a battle won with policies.”

Fashola also disclosed that he never received what is popularly known as a “security vote” during his eight-year tenure as governor of Lagos State.

“This security vote thing, whenever I hear some of my colleagues talk about it, I don’t know what it means because I never had it in Lagos,” he stated.

“I was the governor, I speak for what I know. All our acquisitions were domiciled in the Ministry of Budget and Planning. I didn’t get it, and in some instances, I don’t know from where they got it.”

The former governor maintained that all security-related expenditures under his administration were handled through transparent government institutions.