The Amalgamated Afemai Forum (AAF), has said that its initiative to curb insecurity in Edo State, particularly in Edo North senatorial district have recorded tremendous success within six months of implementation.
The founder of the forum and a security expert, Mr Martins Sadoh, made the disclosure in a press statement made available to newsmen in Benin on Monday.
He said that the AAF initiative which is to curb insecurity in Edo North senatorial district of the state led to the launch of Oduma Protection Squad (OPS) in collaboration with the Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) in December 2022.
Sadoh who said that the 350-man OPS have reduce banditry and kidnapping in the district to the barest minimum within six months of its operation, noted that farmers who have hitherto abandoned their farms over insecurity, have returned to farming.
Sadoh, a security expert and a visiting resource person at the Institute of Security and global Affairs, Djibouti, said he was moved with the plight of farmers who had to abandoned their only means of survival over insecurity.
“Theirs (farmers) became a desperate means of survival haven their only means of survival which is farming almost taken away from them by bandits and kidnappers.
“As a security expert and moreso that I am an Afemai man, I felt the need to do something and that that thing was the launch of OPS in December last year with the deputy governor of Edo State in attendance.
“Security Is everyone’s business, irrespective of status or class, we must all contribute our different quota to make our home land save and secure for us to go about our daily businesses.
“I am indeed happy that tremendous progress have been made with the OPS as no fewer than 65 arrest have been made since the operation started.
“Our team have made most forest unsave for these criminal elements to go about their usual business unchallenged,” he stated.
Sadoh who said that six siena and 30 motor cycles were provided for the outfit during launch, however appealed for more support from individuals and organisations to enable the OPS record more successes.
According to him, “We need more from everyone, low or mighty, as we are bound by a common destiny which is to ensure a saver place for us all to carry on with our daily activities without fear of being killed or abducted.
“Insecurity in Afemailand is peculiar because being a transit area from East, West, North and Middle Belt made it difficult to rise to the challenges concurrently from multiple fronts, without adequate resources.”
He commended the role of JDPC through the Catholic Bishop of Auchi, Bishop Gabriel Dunia and Mustapha Lecky for the successes so far recorded by the OPS.
Meanwhile, Sadoh has called on the goverment of Nigeria to engage the services of private security outfit in the area of intelligent gathering and others to curb challenges of insecurity in the country.
“This is what is practicable in developed countries, including the US. They use private security outfit for intelligent gathering and some covert operations.
“Our armed forces are trying and I can very well tell you that they are overstretched, they need help and its only private security outfit that can render that assistance for them to record more successes to finally arrest the insecurity problem in the country,” he posited.
