From John Adams, Minna
With barely five months after the Niger state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello signed into law a bill passed by the state House of Assembly which makes kidnappers and Cattle rustlers to die by hanging, the governor has again signed into law, bill establishing the Vigilante Corp in the state.
The Law known as the “Vigilante Corp Law” of Niger state will help to organize and bring the various voluntary security groups providing security in the state as a result of the security challenges under one umbrella and ensure that their conduct is guided by the law.
Recalled that in July this year, the Governor, worried by the rising cases of Banditry and cattle rustling in the parts of the state, signed into law a bill making kidnaping and cattle rustling punishable by hanging.
The law known as Kidnapping and Cattle Rustling (Special Provisions) Law, 2021 is applicable to those who act as informants, aid and abet kidnaping and cattle rustling and will equally die by hanging in the state.
Assenting to this bill, the Governor said the Kidnapping and Cattle Rustling Special Provisions Law of 2016 was amended to provide for the punishment of informants and all those involved in the aiding and abetting kidnapping and Cattle Rustling in the state.
However, the Commissioner for Local Government, Community Development, Chieftaincy Affairs and Internal Security, Mr. Emmanuel Umar while briefing newsmen in Minna on the Vigilante Corp Law already assented to by the governor, said there is the need to organize and bring all the various voluntary organisations operating in the state, with the aim of protecting their various communities under one law, hence the establishment of the Vigilante Corps Law.
The Commissioner explained further that the decision of the government will not boost the activities of the Vigilante Corps, it will strengthen internal security architecture of the state, stressing that “the government will explore every measure to ensure the war against armed bandits is won in the state”.
Umar pointed out that the vigilante corps will complement the efforts of the over stretched conventional security agencies in the state.
On the recent development at Runbun Giwa in Mashgun local government area where a group of individuals known as “Kungiyan Manoma” asked farmers to pay levy to bandits before accessing their farmlands, the Commissioner asked the people to ignore such threat, saying that it was meant to extort and warned members of the group to desist from such criminal act while calling on all farmers not to comply with such directive as it is an attempt to extort money from them.
He urged the people to go about with their normal farming business as security operatives have been directed to flush out the criminal elements from their hideout.
He therefore appealed to those with useful information that would lead to the arrest of the criminals in the state to do so, assuring that “their identity will be treated with confidentiality”.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner disclosed that some suspects linked to the Mazakuka attack which led to the massacre of 16 worshippers in the mosque have been arrested.