BY AGNES NWORIE, ABAKALIKI
IN its effort to address security challenge in the state, the Ebonyi State Government has recruited 1,000 local vigilante members.
The Secretary to the State Government and Coordinating Commissioner, Kenneth Ugbala, said five local vigilante members would be picked per community.
He added that 700 would be picked in the 13 local government areas while 300 will take care of the urban city.
The SSG spoke at a press briefing held after an enlarged security meeting.
According to him, Government will equip the vigilante with 80 Sienna cars and many other gadgets to ensure security of lives and property.
The state government, through the chief scribe, charged the Police to protect themselves against any attack, noting that any station attacked might be shut.
The Ebonyi government expressed its readiness to drill boreholes and install solar power, CCTV cameras in all the police stations in the state, all geared towards ensuring safety of the security agents in the state “as they in turn secure lives and properties of citizens.”
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 put in place 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,” he added.
