By Jennifer John
To fast track crime-busting in the South East, governors of the zone have mandated heads of security agencies in the region to draw up a comprehensive list of their logistic and material needs for sustainable success in the fight against criminality, for the immediate provision by the leadership of the South East Security Summit in Owerri, yesterday. The meeting resolved to maintain a joint security vigilante for the South-east, otherwise known as Ebube Agu.
According to a communiqué raised at the end of the summit and made available to News Echo, leaders of the zone resolved to strongly and unequivocally condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the South-east. The communiqué partly read: “The meeting strongly condemns the burning of police stations, violent attacks on custodial centres, with the unlawful release of inmates and the killings, including security personnel, natives/farmers and herdsmen.
“That the five South-east states are on the same page with the federal government on the issue of security challenges in the country. To this end, the meeting makes it absolutely clear that the South-east will stand resolutely with the federal government to fight terrorists and bandits to a finish. That the political leadership in the South East has resolved to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone”.
The communiqué further disclosed the resolve of the summit to galvanize all relevant stakeholders in the South-east, including the political class, the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five South-east states, in order to ensure total success in the fight against criminality in the zone.
It continued: “The heads of all the security agencies in the South-east have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone”. It disclosed that a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders will be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of a South-east joint security platform.
According to the communiqué, the leaders expressed delight at the initiative of the South-east security summit and expressed desire to make it a statutory summit that will convene every quarter, with its hosting rotating among the five South-east states.
“Leaders at the summit appreciated the formation of South-east joint security outfit code- Named Ebubeagu, with headquarters in Enugu, to coordinate vigilante in the South East”.
Also according to the communiqué, South-east governors requested the Acting IGP to stop the influx of IGP monitory units, but to allow CPs, state and zonal commands to handle their cases.
The meeting approved that the acting IGP and other security chiefs do invite the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo and CAN to find out the reason for increasing insecurity of the South-east.
They agreed that military policing in the South-east should be adequately funded and become effective and that open grazing has been banned and security agencies should implement the ban. The meeting encouraged a peaceful coexistence of farmers and herders, to allow governors to succeed in the fight against criminality”. The communiqué concluded.
