The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) on Monday said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with local divers to avert ugly incidents on the waterways in parts of the state.
Dr Oluwafemi Oke-Osanyintolu Director-General, LASEMA made the disclosure in an interview in Lagos.
He said that with the MoU, local divers would stay in strategic places and watch the waterways, especially in areas identified as flashpoints where unsavoury incidents had been recurrent.
Oke-Osanyintolu said that the agency had also set up a surveillance team for some areas around the Third Mainland Bridge, especially around the Oworonsoki area.
Recall that suicide incidents had been recorded with persons jumping into the lagoon from the bridge in the past and some other attempts aborted.
He linked such occurrences to depression, but said the agency was monitoring the waterways to be able to avert ugly incidents in future.
“We, as an agency, have put in place a surveillance team along our major waterways,” he said, adding that the agency had recorded some successes.
Oke-Osanyintolu said the local divers would be vigilant and respond quickly to any suspicious move around the waterways.
“We have a surveillance unit in place around our waterways, we have MOUs with the local divers, they should be vigilant; when they notice such incidents, they should quickly respond and they should inform us.
“We have been seeing success rate because we have been rescuing some people.
“We have also made effort to identify other areas through the local divers and their various associations.
“The local divers ply all waterways and the lagoons and they have associations. They are watching.
“We have watchers on all our waterways and they are monitoring our waterways regularly,” he said.
