By Joseph Edeh
The Conference of Benue Journalists (CBJ), has commended the Benue government on the establishment of Community Volunteer Guards.
The group made the commendation in a statement issued by its Vice-President, Mr Ewache Ajefu, on Monday in Abuja.
The group, however, cautioned against the use of the new security outfit for political gains or self-aggrandizement by any individual or groups.
He said that the outfit was a step in the right direction which would complement security agencies’ efforts in addressing security challenges in the state.
Ajefu, therefore, described the initiative as a genuine step to fight criminals wreaking havoc on the state.
“We are disturbed and disheartened by the latest figure of 5,000 lives lost to unprovoked attacks by terrorists on unarmed citizens in the state since 2011 as revealed recently by the governor.
He said aside from the activities of bandits, that other forms of criminality were beginning to creep into the state due to the complexities of policing a state as large as Benue.
Agefu said the establishment of the outfit was in line with the state’s Vigilante Law of 2000.
The vice-president urged the state government to deploy the personnel of the outfit to volatile areas in the state in order to complement security agencies.
“We are in total agreement with the state government’s plans to increase the number of personnel of the outfit to boost the security in the 23 Local Government Areas of the state:, he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue on Aug. 4 inaugurated 500-Man first batch of the Community Volunteer Guards to complement security agencies in the state. (NAN)
