Laleye Dipo in Minna
The Niger State Government has assured the people of the state of adequate protection of their lives and property in 2017, saying this will be done by giving financial and material support to all the security agencies in the state.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Isa Ladan, gave the assurance in Minna monday when he received members of the state vigilante board led by the Coordinator of the scheme, an Assistant Inspector General of Police (rtd), Ibrahim P Machi, in his office.
Ladan said the administration had been supporting the security agencies despite its lean purse but said more emphasis would be put into this especially when some members of the Boko Haram sect escaped from the captured Sambisia forest.
He declared that “effective protection of lives and property of all citizens at all times is the fundamental constitutional responsibility of any responsible government,” adding that the state government attached great importance to the security of lives and property of the citizens.
The SSG assured the people that the vigilante group in the state would also be strengthened to make it perform its functions optimally so that it will meet the expectations of the government and the people of the state.
“You are required to be more active than ever before, this is the time that the people require your service in order to stop the infiltration of unscrupulous people into any part of our state.
“I enjoined Nigerlites to be vigilant and security conscious with a view to keying into the development aspirations of the government,” Ladan added.
Earlier, the state Coordinator of the Vigilante Board, Machi, had commended the efforts of the state Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, in repositioning the group established in 2013 which now has 9,911 members in the 25 local government areas the state.
