Lagos Govt Recovers N10bn, Prosecutes 71,000 Offenders

Lagos State government through its Ministry of Justice said it has tracked a staggering 73,962 criminal cases and recovered over N10 billion in the past one year, underscoring its commitment to strengthening the rule of law and justice delivery in the state.

The state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Lawal Pedro (SAN), revealed these at a ministerial press briefing as part of activities commemorating the second year of the second term of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led administration in the state.

Pedro highlighted the ministry’s relentless pursuit of justice as a practical necessity for Lagos’s over 20 million residents. “Within the period under review, the ministry processed a total of 73,962 criminal cases across the state’s correctional facilities; over 10,000 of these between January 2024 and May 2025 alone,” he stated.

This remarkable achievement, he noted, was largely facilitated by the Lagos Criminal Information System (LCIS), a comprehensive databank that has significantly improved transparency and coordination within the state’s justice system.

Harping on the challenge of correctional facility congestion, which currently operates at 106 percent above built-capacity, Pedro revealed the expansion of non-custodial measures, including community service sentencing.

“We have supervised the community service of 10,120 offenders across 18 locations, thereby reducing congestion and enabling restorative justice,” he explained.

In a bid to curb social disorder, the Attorney-General reported that the Special Offences Mobile Court has been instrumental, saying “We arrested, arraigned, and secured convictions for 71,023 offenders for minor offences ranging from traffic violations to street-trading and vandalism. This has had a measurable impact in deterring miscreants and preserving order across Lagos.”

According to him, the ministry also made significant progress in economic and civil justice, saying, “The Citizens Mediation Bureau successfully resolved 141,404 out of 214,342 matters received, recovering a substantial ₦2.2 billion for aggrieved parties. Furthermore, the Office of the Administrator-General and Public Trustees tackled over 620 estate petitions, resolving 566 cases and disbursing ₦1.27 billion to beneficiaries, while generating ₦2.35 billion in revenue for the state.

“Public legal aid initiatives saw the Public Advisory Centre respond to 197,649 citizen inquiries, and the Bureau of Public Defender secure 1,323 court judgments, recovering ₦291 million for vulnerable Lagosians. The Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency handled over 8,000 distinct cases of abuse and trauma, reaching more than 6 million people through advocacy and outreach, and directly assisting over 4,000 survivors with counselling services.”