Christopher Oji, Lagos
The Lagos State House of Assembly has promised to see that the Vigilante Group of Nigeria(VGN) will be included in crime fighting in the State.
Speaking on behalf of the Speaker of the Assembly, Hon Mudashiru Obasa, a member of the Assembly representing Alimosho constituency 1, Mr Bisi Yusuf, said during a fitness march by VGN to the Assembly’s premises in Ikeja that the House would do something urgent about it.
‘Obasa in 2019 enacted the Lagos State Neighborhood Corps (LSNC) Bill which was passed into Law and today the LSNC has been impacting positively on the security of lives and property in Lagos State,’ he said.
‘It would not be out of place if all the security outfits come together and are integrated into the security architecture of the country to wage war against social menace in the society.’
Earlier, the Assistant Commandant General of VGN (community policing) Mr Emmanuel Ayisire, said: ‘We are doing a road march for fitness as a paramilitary organisation which would also help boost the confidence of our personnel. This is happening simultaneously in the 36 states of the country including the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).
‘The level of insecurity has increased and we need to be geared up to be able to assist the various security agencies as we have always done in combating crime.
‘The government should do the needful by officially bringing us onboard. VGN is a national organisation in all the 36 States of the federation and we have a very large population with over a million members.’
The Lagos State Commandant of the group, James Udoma, said the group had been cooperating with the police in intelligence gathering to combat crime rate in the State.
‘VGN has been practicing community policing and we have vital information towards crime within the community in which we serve the police and other security agencies.
‘I urge the public to come out with pertinent information about criminals within their domain and give such information to security agencies in order to tighten the security architecture in our country.’