Former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday, narrated how the state government intercepted 17 suitcases loaded with explosives and averted bombings in the state in 2013.

Speaking in Lagos at the fourth annual public lecture/symposium organised by the United Action for Change, Fashola, who was the governor of the state at the time, said the government did not make the issue public at the time so as not to create panic.

He, however, noted that despite the reservations people have about giving information to the police, intelligence gathering was critical to improved security. He stressed that citizens have a huge role to play in general security in the country.

Fashola, who is now the Minister of Works and Housing, said,

“Sometime in 2013, 17 suitcases loaded with explosives entered Lagos and the idea was to detonate them and cause mayhem in the state, but many people did not know this.

“The law enforcement (agencies) missed it completely and nobody got the information but we got it because my phone was always open; my ADC’s line was always open and the lines of some of our senior officials were always open as well.

“Immediately they picked it (the intelligence), we had a principle then that once you get something suspicious, pass it. They acted on intelligence and they arrested all the culprits. The explosives were found, they were disarmed and we started a very long investigation and we prosecuted them here in Lagos, but there was no public show.

“At that time, we were building new courts and so we prosecuted them at the Badagry High Court and they were over 20 of them.”

He said the state government asked the Federal Government to prosecute them but it said no. “So we went ahead,” he added.

“The lesson is that sometimes when we all feel safe is the time the state is mostly unsafe, and even if residents don’t know, we know, however, we don’t want to create panic because the duty of the government is to trust the citizens.”