Bayelsa State Governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, says the newly formed State Volunteer Service would be empowered to recruit more youths to work closely with security agencies.
Dickson, who stated this on Wednesday while inaugurating the Local Government Vigilante Coordinators in Government House, Yenagoa, charged them to provide community-based intelligence on criminal activities across the state.
He directed the Coordinators to, in addition to the existing 5000 youths, recruit 3,000 more to assist in checking all forms of robberies, cultism, pipeline vandalism, sea piracy and kidnapping.
Dickson said his government will not condone acts capable of breach of the peace and announced additional patrol vehicles and other logistics to enhance the operations of the various security agencies in the state.
His words: “This state must be kept peaceful for every human being irrespective of political parties. Everybody knows that we don’t play politics with security.
“But those who want to hide under politics to disrupt the peace of any community, terrorise people, I’m getting ready to draw a red line.
“I charge you to work fearlessly and get all the information about what is going on in our communities and in the creeks because we want Bayelsa to remain peaceful.
“Nobody will be allowed to disrupt the peace of the state. I will tell the Commissioner of Police to deploy a senior officer to work with you as to how you will do your job.
“Get prepared to identify a minimum of 3,000 youths to work with you from every community in this state.”
Responding, Chairman of the Coordinators, Mr. Parkins Ogede, assured the state government that they would carry out their task with diligence by working with community leaders and security agencies to keep Bayelsa peaceful.
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