A surge in killings and kidnappings in Kogi State might have welcomed Governor Usman Ododo to power. But his immediate rollout of a strategy that empowers local hunters and vigilante groups to push back on aggressors is reminiscent of the justification of ‘unpopular’ state police, IBRAHIM OBANSA reports.

Kogi State governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, recently visited President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa, Abuja, about the spate of insecurity in his state and solicited support from the president to curb the trend.

He told the president how kidnappers and gunmen had been unleashing terror on the state and his plans to empower vigilante groups and local hunters to fight the criminals and make the state safe for economic and commercial activities.

Indeed, the sudden turn of the security situation in Kogi State since January 27, this year when former Governor Yahaya Bello, handed over to Ododo is unsettling residents of the state, who are finding it risky to sleep with their two eyes closed.

While Bello held sway as the governor, the state was relatively calm and peaceful, winning many awards as the best-secured state in the country. But that has changed. The current security scenario is like a resolve of the criminals to test the capacity of Governor Ododo to fight insecurity in the state.

However, Ododo is not a stranger to the security architecture left behind by his predecessor as he was part of that government raising concerns about what is amiss about the security structure of the state.

It will be recalled that gunmen recently had a field day at Ayingba in Kogi East senatorial district and Obangede in Adavi Local Government Area, where security officers were killed.

While at Obagede the hoodlums abducted a Chinese national, his security guard, and an operative of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) was killed.

Similarly, at Ayingba, the University town was attacked by persons suspected to be armed robbers, who stormed some commercial banks, where a security guard was also killed.

Students of the Federal University of Lokoja were also not spared by the armed robbers, who shot sporadically around 3.00 a.m. to gain access to their off-campus hostel. Some of them were injured and many were dispossessed of their valuables.

The gruesome murder of 25 people in Agojeju-Odo Community in Omala Local Government Area of the state by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in April this year was the climax of an orgy of bloodletting in the state.

The district head and the traditional ruler of the community, HRH David Akpa, alleged Fulani herdsmen of committing the heinous crime.He said, “The herdsmen were behind the attack. They came in their numbers and killed people. They have been harvesting our crops, preventing our people from having access to their farms. We don’t know why they are killing us and this is not the first time. Whenever they come, they will be asking ‘are you Agatu?’ and many questions.”  He disclosed that in January this year, four people were also killed by yet-to-be-identified gunmen in the community.

The recent attack and kidnapping of about 24 students of the state-owned Confluence University of Science and Technology, (CUSTECH) Osara, Okene, was another evidence that the security structure in Kogi has been infiltrated by enemies of the state.

The bandits were said to have entered the university campus through the bush and went straight into the lecture hall where the students were reading, shot into the air and kidnapped 24 students.

Expressing concerns about how the kidnappers were able to penetrate the higher institution and abduct students, Governor Ododo alleged sabotage and internal collaboration.

He said: “We installed CCTV cameras in all the classrooms and the entire perimeter of the university campus, yet on the day of the attack, our investigation so far revealed that all the cameras were switched off and this can only be attributed to sabotage by internal collaborators.

Few days after the incident, about 20 of the kidnapped students were said to have been released but normal academic exercise has not resumed in the university.

Speaking on how the students were released, Kogi State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Fanwo, said the abductors who were overpowered by the superior fire powers of the security fled leaving behind the students and some other abducted persons.

The Commissioner added that the security agents are combing the bush to rescue the remaining students and other kidnapped citizens who apparently ran in different directions to avoid being caught up in the fire exchange between the security agents and the kidnappers.

He, however, disclosed that a local hunter and a DSS personnel sustained injuries during the exchange of fire with the kidnappers, saying they are already receiving treatment in the hospital, while the kidnappers escaped with various degrees of gun wounds.

However, citizens who spoke with The Guardian, said there is a need for the governor to urgently take concrete steps to bring the situation under control. Yunusa Akeje said that hoodlums returned to the state shortly after Bello left office, insinuating that the present situation might have some political undertones.

But to the contrary, Ademu Isah, said what is happening is purely an act of criminality, which the government must decisively address with the support of citizens.

A trader from Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, Asabe, said: “We can no longer sleep in our houses because of these bad boys.” She noted that criminals now entered houses to kidnap people at will for ransom as low as between N100,000 and N200,000. She called on the government to come to their aid.

The Ohi of Okene, Isah Momoh Okatahi, has called on the government to address growing insecurity in Okene Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. The monarch noted that Okene LGA has started suffering attacks from hoodlums causing unrest in the area. This situation is not different in other parts of the state.

“I want to remind us that there is a need for improved security in Okene Local Government and other parts of the state. We have been enjoying peace in Kogi State. I want to bring to our notice that some hoodlums have started again by kidnapping and terrorising some parts of our environment. Some hoodlums want to capitalise on the change of government to continue to perpetuate evil.”

Conscious of this ugly development, which has been affecting commercial activities in the state, Ododo acknowledged that he inherited a better security network from his predecessor and assured residents that he is already working assiduously to wade off criminals from the state.
 
He said: “Given the successes recorded by the immediate past administration of my predecessor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, in taming the menace of insecurity in the state, we must continue to accord top priority to the security of lives and property of the people.

“We cannot afford to drop from the height we have attained in securing the lives and property of our people as a result of desperate attempts by a few unpatriotic elements who may want to undermine our collective resolve to keep our state safe and secure.”

Tasking local government chairpersons to redouble their efforts to secure all communities within their domains, the governor also held a series of meetings with security agencies, local hunters and vigilante groups to work together and make the state safe.

But Ododo’s master stroke to confront security challenges in the state was his practical step to enhance community policing by encouraging and empowering vigilante groups and local hunters to be more effective in providing security to various communities, which led to the launching of a new security outfit, Metropolitan Quick Response Squad.

The new security outfit is in partnership with the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Nigeria Police and the joint task force of security agencies in the state.

He said, “The flag off of the Metropolitan Quick Response operation is part of the evolving security measures to ensure we have a safe environment and to build on the solid foundation of our security architecture in the state.

“Nothing will be spared to guarantee safety and security in every inch of the state and Kogi State will remain unsafe for criminal elements wherever they may be.”

Ododo called on citizens of the state to be proactive and remain vigilant and to provide credible and timely information to security agencies in the state. He also promised to continue to prioritise technological enablers to enhance capabilities in intelligence gathering to combat emerging security threats in the state.

For the security outfit to be mobile and alert to pursue the criminals, he unveiled 120 new sets of security vehicles and 44 motorcycles to enhance the efficiency of community policing in all 21 local government areas in the state through the Kogi state vigilante service. The governor further stated that each local government area is entitled to 5 vehicles and 2 motorcycles each.

While urging the vigilantes to operate within the law and not be involved in any criminal activities in their various communities, he assured them that the state government is already working on their welfare. He disclosed that in the next few days more vehicles will be distributed to other security agencies in the state.

“As we embark on a consistent review of the security situation in the state, let me state unequivocally that our resolve to maintain law and order in all parts of the state is total and the fight against criminals in our state must be won. We cannot, and we will not allow criminal elements to undermine the progress and prosperity we have worked so hard to achieve in our state.”

With the new security initiative and logistics the government provided, residents are eager to see how they will impact security and return Kogi to the “good old days” when it was among the safest states in the country.