Gov. Uba Sani of Kaduna State has flagged-off the training of 7,000 additional vigilante members as part of efforts to enhance community policing.
The Police College in Kaduna is currently training 7,000 personnel drawn from all the local government areas of the state.
The governor said on Saturday that the raining was a major step towards fulfilling his promise to strengthen the manpower and overall operational capacity of Kaduna Vigilance Service (KADVS).
He said that since its establishment, KADVS had been working with security agencies to degrade criminal elements across the state.
“But we face the challenge of inadequate personnel to successfully wage the battle against bandits and other criminal elements.
“It is for this reason that our administration decided to recruit 7,000 personnel into the Kaduna Vigilance Service,” he said.
Sani stated that local government chairmen, traditional and religious leaders, key stakeholders, and security agencies in their respective local government areas thoroughly screened those recruited.
“The screening was very thorough. We have energetic youth of transparent honesty here who are committed to securing our local communities.”
Sani also explained that KADVS was a complementary security outfit that has been assisting security agencies with actionable intelligence.
According to him, with their knowledge of the local environment, bandits will now have no hiding place.
Sani charged the newly recruited personnels to show seriousness and commitment during the training.