Vigilante Group beg Buhari to assent bill establishing body

The Vigilante Group of Nigeria has appealed to the President, Major Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) to give his assent to the bill establishing the group.

This according to the group would help provide maintenance of law and order, community policing, and community service for Nigerians

The group  further stated that when signed into law, the document would mainstream community policing in the nation’s security architecture,

Speaking during a press briefing on Monday, the Commandant-General, Navy Captain Umar Bakori (retd.), said the president’s assent to the bill would also give his members greater room for participation in the fight against insecurity.

He commended the National Assembly for the consideration and passage of the bill, saying the bill was in tandem with global practices.

Bakori said, “The bill if assented to by the president, will give our members to opportunity to complement the effort of our security agencies.

“From the North-East and North-West where Boko Haram terrorism, kidnapping and cattle rustling is common, to the North-Central with kidnapping and banditry, South-South, South-East and South-West where kidnappings, street gangsters, cultism and other forms of criminality is prevalent, the Vigilante Group has consistently played a complementary role and provided the much-needed intelligence backbone to the Police and the Nigerian Armed Forces.

“Considering the fact that our numerical strength is more than that of all the security agencies put together, we can easily fit in as Community Police or National Guard. VGN personnel can serve as an important component of the first line of defense when given the opportunity.”

He added stated that the group has the ability to protect critical infrastructures across the country if allowed to.

“Apart from the old oil pipelines, Nigeria has over 3,000 km newly built gas/petroleum pipelines, Great Green Wall Nigeria, inland waterways and creeks, railway stations and lines, more than 30 power plants, vast farmland, and many other key positions and vulnerable points, which our members are capable of protecting in their various areas as the first line of defense if given the opportunity,” he added.