Rhodes-Vivour pledges rehabilitation route for Lagos street thugs

African Democratic Congress governorship candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has promised to create alternative opportunities for street thugs in Lagos if elected. Rhodes-Vivour made the pledge during the Independence Day edition of The Platform. He said his administration would seek to remove thugs from the streets while providing routes for them to contribute positively to society.

“We are going to take thugs off the streets by giving them a different pathway to become productive members of the society,” he said. The statement sets out a proposed approach that combines tackling street thuggery with creating opportunities for those involved to change direction. The source material does not provide details of the programmes, funding arrangements or institutions that would deliver the plan.

Rhodes-Vivour is the Lagos State governorship candidate of the ADC. The pledge comes as the state moves towards the 2027 governorship election, although no further details of his campaign plans were provided in the material. His comments focus on offering an alternative pathway rather than setting out specific enforcement measures.

The source also does not include responses from other candidates, government officials, community groups or people affected by street-level violence. The candidate’s proposal, as presented, is therefore limited to a broad commitment to create opportunities and support the transition of people involved in thuggery into productive roles. Further information would be needed to assess how the proposed policy would operate.