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….Moves to Build Police Station, Constitutes local Vigilante
From John Adams, Minna
Worried by the recently rising cases of armed robbery, kidnapping and Cultism in communities in Edumoga District of Okpokwu local government area of Benue state, Edumoga Youth Association (EYA) has concluded plans to build a police station in Ojapo community in other to bring security closer to the people.
The youth association has also decided to empower and support the local vigilantes currently offering voluntary services in these communities in other to check the crime rate in the area.
The police station, when completed, will serve the over 250 communities under Edumoga district with an estimated population of 900, 000 inhabitants, and predominantly farmers that have lived without security presence since the existence of these communities.
The closest police station to these communities is the Divisional Police Station in Okpoga, the headquarters of the local government, about 200 kilometers from these communities and this has exposed the people to a number of security challenges, including farmers/Helder clashes, armed robbery, kidnapping and very lately cultism.
Speaking to our correspondent in an interview shortly after it monthly executive meeting in Abuja on the proposed police station, the National President of Edumoga Youth Association, Alhaji Lucky Itodo said the lack of security presence in the these communities has constantly exposed the people to a number of security challenges.
The EYA President disclosed that since the creation of Benue in 1976, these communities have existed without security presence and have relied on self help efforts through voluntary security services provided by the local vigilantes in the area and this he said has made lives meaningless to the people, pointing out that “the closest police station to these communities is in the local government headquarter, Okpoga which is about 200 kilometers.
“It is unfortunate that about 250 communities with an estimated population of 900,000 people cannot boast of a police station or any security presence despite the rising security challenges all over the country today, especially kidnapping. These communities are undersigned from all forms of security challenges, including armed robbery because every market day people are being robbed at gun point while returning from the markets”
“As a people, we have made several appeals to the government both at the local, state and even federal level on the need to have security presence in these areas but this did not yield any result and that is why the Youths from these communities both at home and in diaspora under the umbrella of Edumoga Youth Association decided the come together to offer some helps.
“We have decided to come up with the idea to build a police station to be donated to the Nigerian Police Force and will be situated at Ojapo which is central to these communities. This, we believe will go a long way to minimize the current disturbing security challenges in our communities”.
According to him, apart from the rising cases of kidnapping and armed robbery the communities are beginning to witness cases of cultism among some youths he described as “disgruntled”, warning that “if nothing is done to arrest this development we might not have a place to call home”
He pointed out that every sons and daughters from these communities will key into this all important project which is meant to bring some relief to the people and allow them embark on their farming and other commercial activities, adding that “we all know that security is very key to the development and survival of any society and that is why we can no longer wait for the government to do it for us. Because security is everybody’s business”
The president disclosed that cultism has claimed the lives of no fewer than five youths in a recent cult war while hundreds have been kidnapped and ransom worth millions paid by families to secure the release of their loved ones, stressing that the situation could have been minimized if there was security presence in the area.
“It usually takes hours for the security agents stationed at the local government headquarters to respond to distress calls from these communities due to the distance but with a police station around these communities, it will help in bringing some level of sanity and that is our prayers”, he submitted.
