By Perez Brisibe
THE Delta State Commissioner of Police, CP Hafiz Inuwa, Monday vowed that the state police command will not allow politicians hijack community vigilantes in the state adding that the police on its part will not impose vigilante operatives on any community.
The Police boss while speaking on the impasse trailing the Evwreni community vigilante in Ughelli North local government area of the state said the police will only facilitate the creation of vigilantes in accordance with the principles of community policing.
President General of the community, Bright Adjogbe, while accusing the vigilante operatives of allegedly being a tool in the hands of the Ovie of Evwreni kingdom, Eruvwedede III, claimed that the CP directed that both leaders work in synergy and call for an enlarged stakeholders meeting on the need to reconstitute the vigilante.
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Though the monarch insisted that he has nothing to say when contacted, the PG said: “The vigilante operatives are being used by the monarch for his personal use and he has refused to come to an agreement on a stand in respect to the operations and setting up of the vigilante and he has vowed not to shift ground.”
Giving clarifications on the impasse, CP Inuwa said: “The police do not impose vigilante or vigilante operatives on society of communities. Instead, ours is to facilitate the creation of vigilantes in accordance with the principles of community policing.
“I told them that, nobody should, and will be allowed not only in Evwreni, but anywhere in the state, to hijack the vigilante for political or any reason and that is the only reason I talked about and nobody controverted all of what I said.
“Having said that, they all agreed that I should give them time to go have an enlarged communal meeting so that they can resolve their differences and move forward, but I was made to understand that there are some persons who want to take over the control of the vigilante for political reason.”
