Edo Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has said the state’s new security architecture will accommodate vigilance groups from various communities, to assist in maintaining peace and order across the state.
Obaseki said the new security architecture was occasioned by recent attacks on Edo people by bandits.
The governor said the security architecture will serve as robust framework incorporating the restructured Operation Thunderstorm.
The new initiative will be supported with 36 operational vehicles to be supplied by the 18 local government areas of the state.
The governor disclosed this at a Security Town Hall meeting held with security chiefs, elders and other members of different communities in and around Ugboha, Esan South East Local Government Area, after the killing of three people in the area by bandits.
According to the governor, the new security measures will forestall breakdown of law and order, noting that the architecture is made up relevant security outfits in the state.
“We have always lived together in this state despite our differences. I am concerned because of a growing national trend. The security of our country is being undermined. We want to caution that we will not allow what is happening across the country to get to Edo State.
“I am working with the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Johnson Kokumo. We are going to overhaul the command and postings in the police. Of particular interest is the police structure in Esanland. We are going to have a Police Force that is highly mobile and integrated with the community arrangements, whether they are vigilantes or hunters. This is to ensure if there are suspicious movements, the information will be sent across promptly.
“With the structure we now have in place, we believe the communities will give us more information.
As much as we will reorganise the police command, the committees we have at the local government level must now be replicated at the community level. Every ward must have the same arrangement. We have to involve our hunters so that everybody will know what is going on and can respond swiftly,” he said.
On his part, Kokumo said governor Obaseki has been proactive in dealing with security issues, noting that the setting up of a committee to mediate on farmers/herdsmen clashes is a step in the right direction.
A member of the community, Richard Oyedo, commended the governor for the actions taken to curb clashes and maintain law and order; and noted that “for a long time, people in the community had feared going to their farms due to the activities of bandits.”