…A Call To Stop Their Excesses
By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
Intelligence gathering through diligent investigations is key to curbing crimes in society.
Where the police with statutory duty to maintain internal law and order has been overwhelmed by worsening criminal activities, engaging extra support to boost intelligence gathering through establishment of community policing structures becomes inevitable.
This is what informed the establishment of vigilantes and other security bodies in Ughelli and environs in Delta state where the police has undeniably been overwhelmed by unending killings, robberies, kidnapping and sundry crimes.
The other notable group set in place to provide that extra crime fighting support to the police included the Anti-Cult, Forest Guards and Hunter Group, each charged with shared responsibilities to assist the mainstream security agencies with credible information to track and arrest criminals and by extension curb crime.
Expectedly, as people from the community, they should be familiar with the environment and community, and to greater extent, know who is who in the neighborhood or community, so that they could be able to trace backgrounds of individuals whose activities are suspicious.
In same vein, the anti-cult group was also primarily established to curb all cult related activities in our schools and community’s, especially the tertiary institutions within their localities and host communities to curtail cult related violence and crisis.
Similarly, the hunters and forest guard forum, came to limelight as a result of the heinous activities and onslaught of some criminally minded elements amongst the Fulani Herdsmen that kidnap, rape, kill and destroy farmers produce. It was a voluntary task by a group of hunters that claim to know the bushes and the forests due to their field and occupation of hunting. Gradually they gained grounds as they were expected to assist in securing our forests, bushes and to protect our people especially women and children who are often victims of rape in the hands of fulani herders.
They were all gladly welcomed and accepted by the national assembly which to some extent gave them the legality to give assistance to the police were the need arises.
In a civilized clime, such groups are regarded as ‘Voluntary Workers’ just like the Red Cross Society. They are therefore to be guided by the constitution of the land and respect for the rights of every citizens. But on the contrary, same people who are out to serve the society have taken the masses to be the hunted living those who are the real problem.
In Ughelli, the headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State, close observation has shown that the above named security outfits are arrogating to themselves powers only vested on the Nigeria Police as they now operate with authority and gross impunity which infringes on the fundamental human rights of the citizens daily without questioning.
For example, the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria did not authorise any of these group to stop vehicles and demands for their particulars nor did the constitution permits them to mount road blocks, extorts vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles.
It is therefore absurd, illegal and lawless for the vigilantes, Anti-Cult or Hunters to go to the road to check vehicle particulars, or harassed, maimed and intimidate road users.
Absolute power they say corrupt absolutely. The powers vested on these group, if not checked, soon, they may use same to wreck havoc on the citizens. On daily basis, they molest, maimed and harass responsible Nigerians going about their normal businesses. They delay anyone who may refuse to part with money and something, oppressively with the help of corrupt police officers, forcefully impound vehicles and take them to the station.
Presently at Ughelli, the vigilantes and others can hardly be differentiated from the real police as they adorned themselves in different uniforms with ‘Police’ crested around their jackets, face cap and sometimes on tattered jeans. Sometimes one wonders, if they are criminals or security personnel considering their appearances. They wore tattered jean trousers, jackets and covers their eyes with black glasses, scarf tied around their necks and faces.
Patrolling and driving recklessly around the town in reality is not and never can be a method of gathering intelligence and relating same to the police.
During the day, all they do is to block any street, or road and start extorting commercial road users and any young man driving an exotic car.
With this, it is therefore an irony for the anti-cult group to perform its works or duties at a check point. With their modus operandi, one is tempted to ask if collecting matching from road users at roadblocks had any relationship with cult related activities.
On another hand, those who volunteered to protect our forest and bushes have abandoned that to extortion of the masses, not at the forest, but in the town. Every day, they resumed duty basically on the roads and streets were they stop and extort every commercial motorcycles, tricycles and vehicles with suspected ‘Yahoo Boys’ as prine target.
They have also assumed the duties of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA, and that of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission EFCC. They search vehicles for drug peddlers, search phones and request for vehicle particulars including drivers’ license. All these they do with gross impunity as it seems their mandate area is not even known to them.
Their daily patrol is not geared at ridding off the town of crime, but rather, how they can enrich themselves through dubious means. What they refered to as achievement and success depends on how much they make a day.
A member of the the vigilantes group, who was telling his friendly and ignorantly did nit know did not journalists was around him said; ‘Anytime we need money, we just go road, and by the time we arrest ten tricycles and twenty motorcycles, we don get enough money to run the day na’.
These are the characters that we call security men, and amid all these, crime is of increase in the neighborhood. Just yesterday, April 1, 2024, nine students traveling along the East West road were abducted into the forest. Though, the Delta state PPRO has said the students have been rescued, but what is the role of the these group.
Every day, people are kidnapped. Vehicles,tricycles and motorcycles snatched at gun point, but innocent citizens are being harassed and forcefully arrested daily.
Between Oviri-Ogor in Ughelli North Local Government and Okpavuerhe-Olomu, in Ughelli South Local Government, there are series of kidnappings, motor cycle theft going on daily within the forests around the stretch, yet no forest guard or hunter on sight to chase the invaders away.
One will wonder if a hunter and forest guard has any business patrolling the town when their actual beat is left opened at the forest and bushes.
The policemen that were murdered at Ohoror axis in Delta state recently, to be precise in February 24, were not murdered on the road but in the forest. If questions maybe asked, were where the hunters and the forest guard that parade the town of Ughelli daily?
Their actions have created controversies. The mandates of the vigilantes and others have been neglected and most of their activities presently contravene the 1999 constitution which vests law enforcement powers on the police.
Their impunity is to the extent of going to make and effect arrests, searched people homes without following lay down procedures of serving search warrant.
The vigilantes, anti-cult and hunters group in Ughelli are alleged to be more corrupt than the police to the extent, two vigilantes and a corrupt police officer will go to any street in Ughelli to mount road block and extort keke riders and cause obstruction to free movement daily.
The authorities in Police ‘A’ Division Ughelli cannot claim ignorance of their activities, as most of their arrests, impounded vehicles, tricycles, motorcycles are taken to the station in collaboration with corrupt sections of the police in the division.
A vigilantes or a hunter can boast to anyone in Ughelli that he will deal with him, and in the next second, a team of police men could be use to intimidate, harass and maimed such person.
Driving through Otovwodo junction, down to the Ughelli market and crossing to Ekuigbo community in Ughelli, you will definitely see these group’s in a commando style harassing people, and the worst affected persons are the keke and okada riders that must either part with N100 or N200 matching, else their tricycles or motorcycles are impounded and forcefully driven to a particular office at the Ughelli ‘A’ Division.
Their activities if not checked, may degenerate into something that could lead to an uncontrolled oppression, grave corruption, intimidation and even extortion of the citizens.
THEY ARE THE CRIMINALS TERRORIZING IN THE TOWN, AN ANGRY RESIDENT ALLEGES
An opinion pool conducted by this medium, shows that residents no longer repose their confidence in them and their activities. They alleged that most of those you see as members of these group have no clean background, noting that most of the violent crime experienced in the town, has links to them. Recently, notable chiefs and personalities in the environs lamented their menace and lawlessness.
“How can you say you are a vigilante and yet, the area you patrol daily, properties are stolen, people robbed, kidnapped, stores vandalized, yet, nothing is done or even arrest of one criminal for people to see.
What then are you securing and how vigilant are you? They are the criminals, an angry residents accuses.”
POLICE SHOULD RUN A THOROUGH BACKGROUND CHECK ON ALL MEMBERS AND ALLOW INTENDING MEMBERS NOMINATED BY THE COMMUNITY THEY HAILS FROM
It is also alleged that most members that volunteered to work with the anti-cult group, vigilantes group and hunters group are people with questionable characters and background, but are not properly check, scrutinized before they are recruited. Criminals that wanted soft landing, cultists that are using the platform to cover their crimes and to give them safe haven by covering their dirty deals.
WHAT THE POLICE AND THE COMMUNITY MUST DO:
The police and tue community (Family) members of an intending member should be given that opportunity to do a thorough background check on such member to know his or her integrity.
Their family members or community leaders that know them should come out to attest to their characters and such persons must not have any criminal record or connected to cultism and all that, as a criminal cannot protect the innocent citizens from being attacked by criminals. Now is the time to stop the malfeasance behavior of this group.
They should be aware that every citizen has fundamental human right that should be respected.
Also, the Inspector General of Police or the Commissioner of Police in the state should let the public know if these group have been incorporated into the police force, this is imperative as it is now difficult to differentiate who is a policeman and who is a vigilante. They both wore police uniforms or crest POLICE in their jackets, face cap and other police insignias.
It is criminal for a civilian to arrogates the power of a policeman to him or herself and threats a fellow civilian with disdain just because he or she is in putting on a police uniform. That could be regarded as impersonation which is a criminal offense in the constitution and the police act.
Its also worthy of note for the public to be educated on the uniform of these group because, on daily basis, one sees different uniforms, different regalia on different persons all crested with POLICE.
Retired police officers should either go out to run their private security companies or work in private companies instead of attaching themselves to local vigilante group in a community they didn’t come from, and directing them to their former offices were they extort monies from the public.
Lastly, every DPO should as a matter of urgency spell out the duties of each of these group out for them to know especially, to warn them from intimidating the masses because they bear arms. Those saddled with intelligence gathering should be trained on how to do so instead of brandishing guns, hanging on vehicles, driving recklessly and violating traffic daily.
The people of Ughelli and environs are lamenting the ways and manners in which these groups are going about their activities.
It is true that they are not on salaries, but it is a voluntary job. It is not the innocent people that should bear the burden of their upkeep.
There should be a well-defined administrative structures at the state, zonal, local government area and community levels, as well as clear operational procedures. From all indications, those in Ughelli work with no particular guidelines or respect for the rights of the citizens.