Editorial 3rd edition

Sustaining the vigilantes

The important role the vigilantes play in securing life and property in communities can never be underplayed. We see them as veritable tools in the management of security within our communities. They should be encouraged by the government and the host communities if they have to optimally perform their civic role.
     As voluntary security operatives, they assist in the maintenance of law and order. They also assist in accident or other occurrences of natural disasters, arrest and hand over of suspected criminals to the police, and more importantly, they help provide intelligence information to the police.
    It is disheartening to note that in most communities, the vigilantes are not properly managed. Their allowances are not promptly paid to them or not even paid at all. There have been complaints by some of the vigilantse that the meager amount of N10, 000 being paid by the state government does not even get to them as at when due. This should not be so, and we condemn it in its entirety.
     We call on Town Unions to consider augmenting the allowances of the vigilante. If possible, some of their members need to be placed on full time paid job. This is to allow for a wholehearted devotion to their duty. Security is a serious business, and must be regarded as such. A situation where they will be left on part-time basis is not fully acceptable by us. Performing security functions with a divided attention is not and can never be healthy at this time that crime wave is increasing on daily basis.
     We believe that if the vigilantes have to effectively perform their supplementary duties, they need to be on full-time job. Furthermore, there should be in place a secretariat where they conduct their day to day activities, with a full-time staff always there to attend to people at all times.
     Again, the town unions should ensure that adequate training and retraining exercises are provided for the men. We believe that with proper orientation, they will be placed in a better position to efficiently perform their duties. We believe that a situation where a group of people are gathered without proper training both in theory and practice of security delivery is not healthy and should be discouraged.
     Providing adequate training for the vigilante will expose them to the modern techniques of security operations and investigations, handling of ammunitions and more importantly information gathering and management. These trainings should also be on a regular basis, not this one-off thing.
     We also call on Town Unions to set up security committees in each of their communities, to be headed by experts in security operatives. The issue of security deliverance should not be left in the hands of non professionals and mediocre
    We believe that when you call a monkey to work for you, you will get the output of a monkey. Square pegs should be placed on square holes, if effective security of our communities must be achieved.
     Again, we suggest that the method of selecting vigilantes should be looked into. People with good antecedents should be recruited. Anyone with unquestionable character should never be allowed to make the team. Life is so sacrosanct to be entrusted in the hands of charlatans who do not appreciate the value of life.
     We heard with dismay a situation in one of the communities where the vigilantes are the ones personally going round to draw debts meant for their allowances. This is unacceptable, as it will create room for compromise on the part of the vigilantes. The Town Unions should make adequate arrangements for the collection and disbursement of the allowances due to the men.
      We are pleased with government’s arrangement in making the traditional rulers the chief security officers of their various communities. Leaving it in the hands of the Presidents-General of the town will be inconsistent with the principle of hierarchical order. The traditional rulers should serve as the “chief security officers” of their communities, and as such, should be charged with the responsibility of overseeing the security situations in their communities.
       We appreciate the efforts of the state government in instituting a code of conduct for the Anambra State Vigilante Group (AVG) operating in the 177 communities in the state. This is a healthy development, as it will help to put the vigilantes in proper check. It should not be handled with lip service. Defaulters of the Code should be shown the back door at once. We believe the document will help make the AVG more effective and human service oriented, rather than being hostile and lawless outfit that operates outside the law, and preys on the people it is supposed to protect.
      We heard of situations where traditional rulers, Presidents-General of the various communities, and other influential indigenes converted their vigilantes into a kind of personal army and bodyguards and even sometimes use them to harass and intimidate perceived enemies. This kind of act should be discouraged especially with the Code of Conduct document in place. Such unscrupulous elements who have converted vigilantes to their “private army” should be sanctioned and made to face the full wrath of the law.
     We applaud the state government’s efforts to sanitize the activities of vigilante units in the state, by setting up the state vigilante supervisory committee which is charged with the responsibility of regulating the activities of the vigilantes, based on the Anambra State Vigilante Law of 2014. This is a welcome development, and serious efforts should be made in the implementation of the laws, and there should be proper methods of monitoring in order to achieve the major aims and objectives of setting the AVG.