Ebonyi To Close Down Police, Security Agencies Who Allowed Herfacilities To Be Attacked.
Ebonyi state government said any police or security agencies that allow her stations or facilities to be attacked by hoodlums will henceforth be closed down.
The state government also directed that every station and facilities of police in the state be provided with ten solar lights With immediate effect.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the state Security council meeting, Secretary to the state government, Dr Kenneth Ugbala said those measures were part of the efforts of the state government to ensure that lives and properties of Ebonyians are secured.
Dr Ugballa said that it is statutory responsibility of the police and the security agencies to protect the people and wondered why they could not protect themselves let alone the members of the society.
"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.
He also announced that the Security council has directed that security agencies and government institutions should work in synergy to enforce the law on open grazing and movement of cows within the state.
On the inauguration of Vigilante group, he said that it should be two weeks, stressing that every community will have five making a total of 700 plus 300 in the urban making a total of 1000 vigilantes in the state.
Dr Ugballa disclosed that the state government has all the logistics in terms of vehicles and reasonable allowances that can aid the vigilantes to effectively discharge their duties.
"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.
We encourage security agencies to have a combined team of security guards 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 barricade their facilities, their division, their area command and 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.