The southeast geo-political zone has opted for the establishment of Operation Ogbunigwe security outfit to tackle its peculiar security challenges.
The resolution came at the end at the end of the Southeast Security Summit held in Enugu with the theme ‘Strategic partnership for effective community policing in the southeast geo-political zone.’
At the meeting attending by the inspector general of police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, southeast governors, traditional rulers and other stakeholders, the president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mr. Nnia Nwodo, who spoke at the end of the event, said farmlands in the zone had been ravaged by marauding herdsmen.
“Mr. IGP, our farms have been devastated and the herders that devastated our farms carry AK-47 rifles. You cannot be talking about community policing when the people you want to supervise, you do not understand their language.
“Your legal architecture doesn’t take into consideration that our governors, by the constitution, are the chief security officers of their various states, and this gives them the responsibility to protect the lives and property of their citizens. So when you begin to talk about recruitment, with the commander and control, and you do not share with the governors and representatives at the local areas this command and control and recruitment, this exercise is dead on arrival,” he said.
Also speaking, the chairman of Southeast Governors’ Forum and governor of Ebonyi State, Mr. David Umahi, who read the position of the governors, said they were satisfied with the strategies for the implementation of the community policing programme in the zone.
“We reached a satisfactory and acceptable decision and agreement.
“The IG’s presentation was not different from “our neighbourhood watch, our vigilante operation and forests guard, the herdsmen and farmers peace community among others.
“When we saw that this is totally in tandem with what we are doing, we decided as your governors to embrace the initiative of community policing,” he said.
In his remarks, Adamu said: “The community policing model is one that will draw on the legal opportunities provided by the Police Act for the engagement of special constables who will be engaged as community policing officers under the coordination of the Nigeria Police Force toward evolving a community-focused policing architecture.”
