By Kunle SHONUGA
The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) has warned miscreants who are in the habit of attacking emergency responders to desist from the act.
The General Manager, LASEMA, Mr Adesina Tiamiyu, gave the warning on Wednesday in Lagos, following recent attacks on LASEMA’s operatives around Obanikoro, Ikorodu Road and Ejigbo respectively.
Tiamiyu said that officials of the agency were brutalised and their vehicles damaged, vowing that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would be fished out and prosecuted appropriately.
He said that the act was perpetrated by some unscrupulous elements, who did not have any role to play at the scenes of the incidents being responded to.
The General Manager said that the miscreants rather created pandemonium, thereby impeding the smooth operation of the emergency officers.
He said that the miscreants put the lives of emergency responders at risk during the operations by inflicting injuries on them.
Tiamiyu pleaded that emergency workers should be seen as friends coming to give help to people in distress, as well as salvage properties during emergency situations.
”As such, they should be allowed to carry out their assigned duties without any hindrance, to avoid unnecessary loss of lives and property,” he said.
The General Manager said that the administration of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode had invested heavily in all emergency/security operatives toward prompt and adequate intervention in emergency incidents in the state.
He said that the tentacles of the agency had been decentralised from the Command and Control Centre, Alausa, Ikeja to other parts of the state.
The other parts of the state include Lekki by Admiralty Way, Onipanu on Ikorodu Road and Cappa Dispatch Centre, Oshodi, all equipped with various rescue equipment and recovery vehicles.
Tiamiyu expressed satisfaction with Lagosians who patronise the emergency toll-free line, 112/767.
He, however, said that there was the need to ensure they call the emergency numbers immediately and not to resort to self-help before calling the numbers.
Tiamiyu also urged them to give precise location with the nearest landmark of incident scene.
The General Manager advised motorists, especially commercial bus drivers, to always ensure they give right of way to all emergency vehicles blaring siren or heading toward emergency scenes.
