Banditry: Katsina to Arm Newly Recruited Vigilantes

Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State has said the state government will procure arms for the 3,000 newly recruited operatives of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) in order to support security agencies in the ongoing onslaught against banditry in the state.

Masari, who disclosed this when he received the state’s newly posted Commissioner of Police, Shehu Usman Nadada, at the  Government House, said the decision was to complement the efforts of conventional security personnel to ward off banditry in the state.

He explained that the government would arm the trained vigilantes through the Nigeria Police Force using the approved licensed weapons and other war equipment that are constitutionally allowed to enable them fight the criminal elements.

Masari reiterated that the government had institutionalised the VGN in the state by subjecting its members to vigorous training by the police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) with a view to arresting the security challenges bedevilling the state.

He said: “In Katsina State, we have less than 6,000 policemen who are grossly inadequate. Going by the statement of your predecessor, he said that under normal conditions we need 23,700 policemen to police Katsina but we have less than 6,000.

“Realising that, we have institutionalised the vigilante groups by subjecting them to training by the police and the NSCDC and also arming them through the police using the approved licensed weapons that they can carry. We also support the police to arm them with those equipment that are constitutionally bestowed on them.”

He, however, said that for Nigeria to tackle the upsurge of security challenges, it needs modern equipment and security agencies that are proactive not responsive, noting that the country is facing an institutional decay that has been fastening the world over 30 years.

Earlier, Nadada told the governor that he came to the state with new policing goals that would decisively deal with the scourge of banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling, cybercrime and other criminality in the state.

He promised to work assiduously with other security agencies and critical stakeholders to ensure a hitch-free 2023 general election, adding that making the entire state safer remains his cardinal objective.

Nadada, until his present posting was the commissioner of police in charge of communications, Force Headquarters, Abuja.