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From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Following the surge in insecurity across the country, and the failure of community policing initiative, most communities in the South-East are organising their own internal security networks, which they also fund.
Although the government of Imo State recently floated what it called Imo State Vigilance Service to beef up security across the 27 Local Government Areas of the state, like in some other states in the South-East, many community leaders still struggle to secure their neighbourhoods.
Daniel McBenedict, a youth leader in Irete community in Owerri West council area of the state said that as a result of the menace of herdsmen in the area, the community had to establish a vigilance group long before the initiative of the state government.
He disclosed that the community also provided funds to equip the vigilance group for effective operation.
“Irete community is a large community with a large number of non-indigenes because it is close to Owerri, the state capital. But over time we began to experience kidnapping and attacks by herdsmen. To protect our people, community leaders and the youths decided to form a vigilance group and provided them with the necessary logistics to operate. Our vigilante groups are now complimenting the efforts of the state government-owned vigilance service, which acts as community police.
“To reduce cases of abduction and attacks by undesirable elements, we also erected entrance and exit gates in the community. The gates are shut at 10:30pm every night by vigilantes.
For one to be allowed to access the community at that time the person must identify himself or herself while someone who lives in the same compound with the person must confirm it. Otherwise the person will be detained by the vigilante men.”
Similarly, the chairman of Umuota Umuhu community in Ngor Okpala council area, Mr Stephen Amaechi disclosed that the community, having learnt that they have to secure themselves established a well-trained and equipped vigilante group consisting of able-bodied young men to secure the community.
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He equally stated that the community vigilante group is registered with the state police command and headed by a retired military officer.
“We also have hunters amongst them. We have chased out all the herdsmen from our forests to avoid clashes with the community members. We have never witnessed abduction or robbery attacks within our community. The additional personnel deployed to our community from the newly formed Imo State Vigilance Service are a boost. Our vigilantes also patrol our forest areas against marauders especially at night. All the four entrances leading to our community are gated and locked by 10pm.”
He added that any resident of the community who is returning home late would have to inform the vigilantes.
“Once the gates are locked people from neighbouring communities are not permitted to pass through. Our people at home and in the Diaspora provided the necessary logistics including equipment to ensure timely communication. We also inform the divisional police headquarters of any security situation.
“But we have not had any serious security issues so far because we banned herdsmen from operating in the community,” Amaechi said.
Beside the establishment of community based security outfits, a source at the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) said that the Eastern Security Network (ESN), which was established “to tackle insecurity in the South-East, especially the menace of herdsmen who engage in kidnapping for ransom is still in operation regardless of the organisation being erroneously tagged as a terrorist organisation.”
He explained that what the likes of Sunday Igboho are trying to do in the South-West is what the ESN was established to do in the South-East – preventing the abduction or kidnapping of indigenes by herdsmen.
“Today following the rampant abduction and killings of Yoruba people across the South-West, Sunday Igboho is seeking permission from President Bola Tinubu to establish a security outfit to flush out Fulani terrorists that have been kidnapping and killing innocent indigenes from their communities. It was for the same reasons that ESN was established. But it was declared a terrorist organisation,” the IPOB source declared.
