Ihuoma Chiedozie, Enugu
The Enugu State Police Command has concluded arrangements to train neighbourhood watch security outfits in communities in the state.
The plan is a fallout of the attack on Ukpabi Nimbo community by suspected Fulani herdsmen on April 25.
Although some communities in the state already had neighbourhood watch units, a decision to set up the outfit in all the towns in the state was the major outcome of a stakeholders meeting convened by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi after the Ukpabi Nimbo attack.
The outfits are expected to help in beefing up security in the various communities.
Commissioner of Police, Enugu State, Emmanuel Ojukwu, disclosed that the police would train the neighbourhood watch outfits at a town hall meeting with traditional rulers in the state.
The meeting held at the Enugu State House of Assembly complex.
The training is aimed at building the capacity of the neighbourhood watch outfits, which are comprised of individuals drawn from concerned communities.
Members of the neighbourhood watch are also expected to undergo orientation in line with the Enugu State Police Command’s plan to co-opt the outfits into its ‘neighborhood policing’ programme.
Ojukwu said traditional rulers and other community leaders in the state should partner the police in the quest to secure lives and property in the communities.
In the same vein, the Enugu State police chief commiserated with the people of Ukpabi Nimbo over the attack in the community.
He consoled families of victims of the incident, and assured them that those behind the attack would not go unpunished.
However, he spoke of the dangers of rumor mongering, particularly unsubstantiated reports concerning sensitive security issues, in the local communities.
Ojukwu urged the traditional rulers to discourage rumor mongering in their domains.
by ROTMANLUV 2023-07-08, 17:34
