As one of the 21st Century Commissioners of Police to be in charge of the Lagos State Police Command, Imohimi Edgal who was at the helm of affairs between September 2017 and March 2019 is one cop many Lagos residents would not forget in a hurry. To the bad guys in different criminal camps across the state, Edgal was a killjoy and great obstacle to their dared devilish activities but to the good guys, he was a hard fighter who was ready to pursue cultists, armed robbers, kidnappers, ritualists, child molesters, wife abusers and illicit drug dealers to the gate of hell.

Though he may be doing well in his present posting, yet the legacy of his robust policing policy in Lagos within the 18 months he held forth has continued to be remembered with nostalgia particularly by crime reporters whose lot, it was to interface with him every now and then as partners in the course of duty.

The commissioner needed the journalists to assist him to take the message of his administration to every nook and cranny. Hence he sought their partnership early on assumption of office. This writer incidentally was one of the reporters who covered his activities while he was in charge of the Lagos State Command. It is, therefore, with a benefit of hindsight that this write-up is put in the public space to remind us how active and efficient some law enforcement officers could be and remain model to others.

Having served in the Lagos State Command over the years in different capacities and becoming the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations during Fatai Owoseni’s era as the Commissioner of Police, Edgal, was ostensibly on familiar terrain. At some point, he had the opportunity to hold brief for the commissioner in an acting capacity. It was during that period he led a team of crack detectives and operations men from the State Command to dismantle an emerging deadly gang of ritualists, Badoo. The gang’s activities were already sending some residents of Ikorodu and environ to their early graves as some helpless victims were crushed with some mystery stones to death mostly at night by members of the cult gang. At that time, there was an unconfirmed report that for each victim of the Badoo gang whose blood was soaked in white handkerchief after being killed, the sum of N500,000 was paid by their sponsor.
The spate of Badoo gang’s activities was escalating by the day and was fast extending beyond Ikorodu town and environ, coming towards Lagos metropolis but Edgal’s operational astuteness combined with fearlessness became a serious obstacle to the bloodsuckers.
When Edgal officially took over the Lagos Police Command in September 2017 as the Commissioner in charge, the goodwill of Lagos residents who saw him as a hard-working ally to Fatai Owoseni particularly on the Badoo gangsterism, was very much on the horizon. It was, therefore, not surprising that soon after his appointment as the Commissioner of Police in an acting capacity in the first instance, Edgal was received literarily with open arms. There was much applause from the civil populace as he was considered a right man for the job, just as he personally galvanized himself to work.
Few days after his assumption of office as the Commissioner, Edgal, categorically declared that he was going to revitalize the concept of community policing, which was initiated some years back by the police authorities. With a slight rebranding as Community Policing and Safety Partnership initiative, Edgal went to town to hold town hall meetings with Lagos residents periodically in different parts of Lagos. Among the stakeholders were businessmen, public servants, traditional rulers, politicians, students, artisans, etc. The essence of the town hall meetings was to create some awareness about the need for members of the civil populace to collaborate with the police in the fight against all forms of criminality.