Benin City – Following the high rate of crimes across Edo state in recent times, the Action for Socio-political and Economic Change (ASEC), an affiliate of Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOCSO) has called on the state government to convene “critical and strategic meeting” with citizens, to chat a way forward for the security of the state.
The group’s coordinator, Leftist Osazee Edigin, who made the call on Wednesday in a statement, asserted that the Inspector-General of police, Mohammed Adamu was irked over the protests against the unprofessional conducts of his men, hence a “deliberate” withdrawal of operatives from “civic space”.
The call is coming after weeks of Nationwide protests by youths against police brutality, extortion, extra judicial killings, excessive use of force, amongst other impunity.
According to Edigin, the state government should commence the process of recruiting vigilante personnel from across the state to protect lives and property of its citizens, adding the current situation calls for every state in the country to have their own police.
“IGP want to prove a point to the effect that, when the insecurity in the country becomes too high, the people will come begging for the police to resume their constitutional duties.
“Edo state government should as a matter of urgency should begin to recruit vigilante personnel across the state to protect lives and property. We should no longer wait for the federal police to secure us this very moment.
“We as a people can collectively put in place modalities for our safety and security. After all, the state Ministry of Justice can also prosecute criminal matters. Necessity is the mother of all inventions”, the former EDOCSO spokesperson said
The IGP had earlier ordered his men where they are domiciled to dominate the public space and ensure peace and safety, but normalcy is yet to be restored in the affected areas as there has been reports of criminal activities across states.
Meanwhile the newly set up outfit known as Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), to fill the gaps arising from the dissolution of Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) has since October 18th commenced training at the PMF Training College, Ila- Oragun, Osun State.
The new SWAT are expected complete their training on November 7th 2020.
According to the IGP, their mandates include response to robbery attacks, scenes of weapons-related crimes, rescue operations, and special operations involving high-profile criminals.
