Insecurity: Kebbi Govt Trains 3,000 Vigilantes, Hunters
The Kebbi State Government has begun the first batch of retraining for local vigilantes and hunters as part of efforts to strengthen community policing amidst escalating insecurity across the state.
The government has identified 3,000 of such volunteers for retraining, commencing with the first batch of 500 vigilantes undergoing rigorous tactical combat skills training at a camp in Kalgo Local Government Area.
The training covers human rights, intelligence gathering, tactics, weapon handling, signals, and first aid, among others.
The training instructors were drawn from the Department of State Services, Nigerian Police Force, Civil Defence, Nigerian Legion, and the Vigilante Group of Nigeria.
The state Governor, Nasir Idris, who visited the training camp on Monday, reiterated the unwavering commitment of his administration to strengthening security across the state to ensure the safety of lives and property.
According to him, the training is aimed at complementing the efforts of conventional security forces in tackling the security challenges across Kebbi State.
The Governor said the training will equip community-based security volunteers with modern skills to effectively support security agencies in protecting their communities.
He said Nigeria’s growing population requires increased security capacity, as such community participation remains critical to bridge manpower gaps in the security architecture.
“This special plan became necessary because the existing security agencies, particularly in our state, are overstretched. That is why trained vigilantes must support them.
“We came here personally to assess your preparedness. When you return to your communities, you must respond swiftly and assist security agencies whenever the need arises,” Idris said.
He said that 3,000 vigilantes have been approved for training with 500 per batch to avoid overstretching the camp facilities. He assured that the state government would provide all necessary funding and logistics to sustain the programme.
He reaffirmed that security remains a top priority of his administration, stressing that any initiative capable of enabling residents to “sleep with both eyes closed” would receive full government support.
The governor assured the vigilantes of direct and regular payment of their monthly allowances, just like other government workers.
He directed the inclusion of women in subsequent training batches, instructing the Adviser on Security to work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security to make adequate provisions for female participants, noting that women have important roles to play in community policing.
