Insecurity: Ebonyi to unleash 1000 local vigilantes

 

Ebonyi state government Wednesday said it would set up 1000 local vigilante to ensure proper security in the 13 council areas.The Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the coordinating commissioner, Dr Kenneth Ugbala, disclosed  this to journalists during a joint press briefing with the internal security commissioner, Stanley Emeagha, after an enlarged security meeting at old Government House, Abakaliki.Ugbala said, “The council had extensive discussions on the establishment of vigilantes and we want to take our security from the grassroot the way it has always traditionally been done. Every community in Ebonyi state is to have five vigilantes and that will give us a total of 700 vigilantes at the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi state. They will be responsible outside our normal community vigilantes that have always been our traditional way of safeguarding our people which the government encouraged that all the villages and communities should set out their own vigilantes. We all grew up to meet all these things being done and this is the right time creating barricades on the roads at odd hours and checkmating who is going out and coming in at our local government areas and communities.

“The state will equally set 700 vigilantes across the 13 LGAs and another 300 at the urban making it a total of 1000 vigilante members. The essence of it is that all the necessary facilities that can help them do their work better including mobility and training will be instituted through the Ministry of Internal security immediately. The vehicles have already been purchased by government to make sure that they are strategically located in all the corners in the state  to ensure that our people are not attacked by bandits.”

On the steady attack on police stations, the SSG noted that the security agencies have been told to find the best way to protect themselves and their  properties as it is their duties to protect others.

He called on police to keep their surroundings clean and avoid bushes from taken over them.

“The council resolved that the police in Ebonyi state  and other security agencies should do their best to protect their police stations, that any police station that allows the division or area command to be attacked, government will have no option than to allow such division or command to be closed down. The reason is that our security agencies have the primary responsibilities of protecting not only their stations or personnel working with them but our citizens but where they cannot even protect themselves, it is a big problem because they are trained for that and government agreed that if the agencies allowed their facilities to be attacked, then Ebonyi government will be requesting for close down of such station or area command while the officers working in such places will face disciplinary actions.

“We encourage security agencies to have a combine team of security guide at each of the police stations and area commands throughout the state to safeguard their facilities. The council equally resolved that every police station should make effort to clear from the facilities, their division area command to clear it 200 radius away from the station. A situation where police stations and area commands are allowed to be surrounded by bushes, will give room for insecurity.”

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