The Coalition of Civil Society Groups, on Tuesday, knocked the Katsina State Government over its ban on a volunteer group known as Yansakai.
The coalition, in a statement by its Katsina State Chairman, Abdulrahman Abdullahi, insisted that the state did not have enough security personnel to tackle the current security challenges.
It maintained that what the government ought to have done was to identify and prosecute the bad eggs among members of the group, instead of an outright ban.
The coalition stated, “Why is the government going back and forth in handling the security issues in the state? Why is this coming from the same government that called on members of the public to defend themselves? Has the government got enough security personnel to man the security situation in the state?
“Even the 500 vigilante members recruited and trained by the state government about seven months ago are not properly managed. They are not paid their allowances promptly, nor are they provided with working tools. Instead of banning the activities of the security volunteers, the government should have devised means for integrating and coordinating their activities for effective and more professional services. At this time of serious dearth of security personnel, the Yansakai has a role to play in enhancing the security situation of the state.
“Certainly, there were some levels of excesses in the discharge of their activities, which needed to be controlled, but in a situation where the government failed to protect the lives and properties of the citizenry, people should be encouraged to play their part in protecting themselves without being excessive.
“In addition, the government needs to demonstrate commitment to ending banditry and other related crimes in the state before taking this kind of decision, because people have seen weakness in the way and manner the government is handling the situation.”
Meanwhile, the state police command has directed its operatives to arrest any member of the outlawed Yansakai group still carrying out security activities.
A statement by the command’s spokesman, SP Gambo Isah, in Katsina on Monday stated, “Following the directives of the Katsina State Government on the banning of the outlawed Yansakai group in the state, the Katsina State Police Command has issued directives to all its area commanders and DPOs to go after recalcitrant offenders and their sponsors, wherever they are in the state.
“Members of the public are enjoined to dissociate from the group, cooperate with security agencies and report any Yansakai member within their domain. The command will not fold its arms, while some disgruntled members of the public take the law into their own hands and brazenly kill innocent citizens, destroy and loot public property without recourse to the rule of law.
“The Nigeria Police Force and indeed other sister security agencies will deal decisively with any person or group of persons found parading themselves as Yansakai. The government and security agencies recognised the efforts and contributions of the State Vigilante Group, which is under the supervision of the police and the traditional leaders.”
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