Kebbi State Governor, Comrade Dr Nasir Idris, Kauran Gwandu has pledged to support members of Vigilante Groups in the state to encourage them to play their supportive roles to security agencies
He stated this when he received members of the Nigeria Vigilante Group, Kebbi, under the leadership of Commander Sanusi Ibrahim-Geza and Commander Muhammad Lawal-Augie in Government House, Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday.
The governor stressed the need for members of the general public to also support the volunteers to enable them actively play their role towrds national security.
“I want to assure you that my administration is ready to assist you to play your complementary role in combating crimes and criminalities across the state,” he assured.
According to him, issue of security is supposed to be a responsibility of all not only the security agencies alone, adding, “nobody can deny the fact that vigilante groups are playing critical roles in fighting crimes across Nigeria.
“Let me assure you that this government will work with you to ensure safety of lives and property across the state.”
The governor instructed the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) to sit down with them to come up with modalities on how they could be assisted.
On issue of parallel leadership in the state, Idris promised to create a forum where both groups would come together for a dialogue on how to resolve their differences.
Responding separately, the two State Commanders said the essence of the visit was to show appreciation to the governor for coopting the two groups to play their roles in securing the state.
They were particularly thankful to the state government for organising a training for 500 of their members on weapon handling.
The leaders assured that since the rebranding of vigilante in 2014, the group had been actively supporting the security agencies to achieve their set goals and objectives.
While informing the governor that their number exceeded 16,000 across the 225 wards of the state, the leaders requested for a Hilux vehicle, motorcycles as well as office accommodation to be able to discharge their supportive role diligently.
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Signed:
Ahmed Idris, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
