Insecurity: Dickson Inaugurates Vigilante Group In Bayelsa

Worried by rising case of insecurity, the Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, has inaugurated the State Volunteer Service which he said will recruit a minimum of 8,000 youths to work closely with the security agencies to strengthen security in the state.

Dickson, who stated this while inaugurating the local government vigilante coordinators in Government House, Yenagoa, and charged them to provide community-based intelligence on criminal activities across the state.

He also urged the vigilante coordinators to recruit 3,000 youths from all the communities in the state to assist in checking all forms of criminal activities ranging from petty robberies, cultism, pipeline vandalism, sea piracy to kidnapping.

This is in addition to the 5, 000 already in services of the Bayelsa volunteers.

According to the governor, the government will continue to invest in the security sub sector to sustain the existing peace and stability, towards creating an enabling environment for investments to thrive.

The governor therefore said his administration would soon provide additional patrol vehicles and other logistics to enhance the operations of the various security agencies in the state.

“This state must be kept peaceful for every human being irrespective of political parties. Everybody knows that we don’t play politics with security. But those who want to hide under politics to disrupt the peace of any community, terrorize people, I’m getting ready to draw a red line.

“I charge you to work fearlessly and get all the information about what is going on in our communities and in the creeks because we want Bayelsa to remain peaceful. Nobody will be allowed to disrupt the peace of the state. I will tell the Commissioner of Police to deploy a senior officer to work with you as to how you will do your job. Get prepared to identify a minimum of 3,000 youths to work with you from every community in this state,” he said.

Responding, the state chairman of the coordinators, Mr. Parkins Ogede, assured the state government that they would carry out their task with diligence by working with community leaders and security agencies to keep the state peaceful.