Lagos Assembly To Establish Vigilance Groups

With the refusal of the Federal Government to grant the request for State Police in the country, the Lagos State House of Assembly has moved for a law to establish vigilante groups as Community Security Marshals (CSM) in the state.

The lawmakers said robbery and insecurity of lives and properties in the state cannot be left in the hands of the police alone, especially with the rise in cases of violence in some parts of the state.

The motion was moved by Sanai Agunbiade, representing Ikorodu Constituency 1 at the House, who cited Section 14 (2) (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Section reads that the “security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”

Agunbiade, in his argument, emphasised that the state government has continued to work towards a more secured society and in conformity with the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy by providing new and upgrading the existing infrastructure facilities in the state and spending huge sums of tax payers’ money to provide tools for law enforcement agencies in the state.

Agunbiade further reminded his colleagues of government’s efforts to contribute to the fight against crimes through the Security Trust Fund.

Agunbiade argued further that the socio-economic position of the state encourages the influx of people with different shades of character into the state on a daily basis thereby making the state prone to criminal activities.

He expressed fears about the spread of violence from the northern part of the country adding that “there was a time that the nooks and crannies of Lagos were almost predominantly manned by vigilante groups whose activities were complementary to the duties of the Nigeria Police.”

Agunbiade said though these vigilante groups are now few in the state and in some areas non-existent, they have been effective in other areas of the state where they operate.

Most of his colleagues expressed their support for the law while some advised that it should be slotted into an amended version of the bill on Neighbourhood Watch as this would ease the stress of fashioning out a separate bill to handle it.

—Eromosele Ebhomele