The Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin City, AIG Isaac Akinmoyede, has called on the Edo state Commissioner of Police to profile all members of the Edo State Security Network Vigilante in order to avoid a situation where criminals infiltrate their ranks.
The AIG made the call against the backdrop of a shooting incident by members of the Edo State Security Network Vigilante at Ugonoba in Uhumwode Local Government Area during a meeting comprising the Commissioner of Police, other heads of police formations, and the Special Adviser to the Edo State Governor on Security with members of the vigilante group.
According to the AIG in a statement signed by the Zonal Public Relations Officer of Zone 5 Headquarters, DSP Tijani Momoh, the incident that led to the call to reorganize all vigilantes groups in the state occurred on Sunday, June 13, 2021, when the police received information that the house of the leader of Ugonoba Community was set ablaze by hoodlums over the murder of a member of the said community.
While the Divisional Police Officer from Okhuaihe in Uhunmwonde Local Government Area who mobilized his men to the scene was addressing the aggrieved youths of the community, members of the Edo State Security Network Vigilante operating in the area arrived in two Sienna buses and a Mercedes Benz car and started shooting sporadically.
In the process, the DPO, two other policemen, and an unspecified number of civilians sustained gunshot injuries.
The AIG though acknowledged the contributions of the vigilante members in aiding the police in the fight against crime and criminality said things cannot be allowed to remain the way it is with the latest incident and charged them to continue to carry out their duties professionally while assuring of a training programme to enable them to work hand in hand with the police especially in the area of intelligence gathering and operational duties.
He warned the vigilante members against maintaining detention camps, stressing that all suspects arrested should be immediately handed over to the police for diligent investigation and possible prosecution reiterating the position of the police to arrest and prosecute any vigilante member who involves himself in illegal duty or other criminal activities.
Edo State police had involved local vigilante in the security architecture of the state after the End SARS protests that saw the prison break of two correctional facilities in the state.