The Monarch of Issele-Uku Kingdom in Aniocha North LGA of Delta State, HRM Agbogidi Obi Nduka on Thursday, 16th June, 2022, summoned a Security Meeting to hear from the Security Agents with regards to their plans to raise the bar in securing the community based on the prevailing insecurity across the country.
He said it had become pertinent to evaluate the current security arrangements within the community and beyond with a view to working in synergy with the various security and law enforcement agencies to be more strategic in their operations while stepping up their games ahead of the criminal elements within and around the community.
Obi Nduka commended the security agencies comprising of the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Vigilante Groups, the Non Indigene Communities comprising of Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo Communities, religious bodies comprising of Christians, Muslims and Traditionalists, Media Representatives and others for responding to his clarion call for a discourse to dissect the challenges of security and come up with solutions going forward.
According to him, “We need security for ourselves, our property and of course, our farms and forests. It is your duty to give us the roadmap and the way forward, so we can key in for the purpose of working with you on the same page. Thank you”.
Speaking on behalf of other security agencies, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Issele-Uku Divisional Police Headquarters, CSP Ezekiel Onyeke Udeviotu who was well articulated, briefed the Izuani Issele-Uku on the criminal happenings in Issele-Uku and environs, and at the same time proffered solutions geared towards reducing the menaces to the barest minimum.
He dwelt specifically on crimes bordering on intake of and addiction to hard drugs, ritual killings in the name of Yahoo Plus, cultism, burglary and activities of ‘iron condemn merchants’, herdsmen menace, banditry, kidnapping and land disputes.
The DPO called on parents to continue to caution their children against going into drugs and yahoo business, insisting that most of the youths these days are out to destroy their lives and future. He condemned the actions of parents who are encouraging their children on the illicit businesses of yahoo and partaking in spending the ill-gotten money.
Udeviotu also noted that cultism is taking a new dimension of pain, sorrow and death to participants, thereby causing untold agony to their parents and society.
While warning residents not to take laws into their hands by beating the street scavengers called ‘iron condemn’ which could lead to injury or death, he encouraged them to either report or arrest them and hand over to the police when it is evident that they had stolen.
For those always bothering the police with land matters, the DPO affirmed that land cases are not for the police to handle but that they are civil cases for traditional rulers and the court. He said except otherwise there is a criminal linkage, land matters are strictly outside the purview of the police.
Giving an instance with the recent attack on the Owo Catholic Church, the DPO said the time we are in is highly precarious and demands adequate vigilance by all and sundry.
According to him, “Because of the precarious nature of the moment, security has become an exclusive agenda of every individual. We must watch out for everything to be able to identify unusual happenings around us. The things happening outside of our domains are a pointer to the fact that we must be vigilant and conscious of our security at all times.
“It is a clarion call to be extremely watchful. Everybody is a target these days. So, we must be conscious of our environment, and ensure that our public places are safe. Anything unusual around us is a suspect and we are expected to raise alarm immediately. That is the law of self preservation.
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“I will like to suggest to the churches to ensure that their ushers and protocol officers are permanently stationed outside the church premises during services to keep watch of the environment. I will like to recommend that churches should key into the Youth Christian Movement Organisation to form the Boys’ Brigade in order to aid churches in observing, monitoring and securing their worship centres while services are going on. This will help to alert the security agencies in case strange faces are noticed during services.
“I personally have been engaged in that method for sometime now. While services are going on in churches on Sundays, I always move around with a team made up of members of the Anioma Security Watch, Anti Cult and Vigilante Groups, just to ensure that nothing unusual is happening around our worship centres in Issele-Uku and environs.
“It is equally pertinent that schools should begin to engage active security guards during the day when in sessions. We can build good and conducive classroom structures, but they are no longer enough these days. Security matters a whole lot now and the Parents/Teachers Associations (PTAs) must look critically in this direction. Let us imbibe the culture of security, knowing that security now is everybody’s business. We must say something when we see something”.
While appreciating the Royal Father and the Izuani for granting him the audience to brief them, the DPO affirmed that the issue of herdsmen, bandits and kidnappers come in different dimensions based on various peculiarities.
He said even though he had his discreet strategy on security for the forests around Issele-Uku, he called on farmers to endeavour to always raise alarm when herdsmen are sighted in their farms or had attacked them, adding that they must also follow up after making complaints at the station.
While giving out his number for stakeholders to reach him directly in case of any information, he assured the community of his readiness to work with them in synergy to ensure that residents always go to bed with their two eyes closed.