The member representing Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Barr. Sunday Cyriacus Umeha, over the weekend, met with critical stakeholder and security heads to brainstorm on how to improve the security in the area.
The 1-day security parley had in attendance, the traditional rulers of Ezeagu, representatives of the Armed Forces, Nigerian Police Force; the Department of State Services, the Civil Defence; the clergy, President Generals and Community Leaders, Youth groups and members of the public.
During the day-long event, participants shared their respective perspectives on the root cause of the issue and called for a concerted response to the security crisis in a manner that carries every member of the community along.
After extensive deliberations, the following resolutions were reached:
1. The youths of the community were urged to be more responsive and proactive in guarding their respective communities by forming Civilian Joint Task Force to assist Security agencies
2. There is a need to strengthen the Neighborhood Watch to complement the role of the police.
3. There is a need to mobilize and motivate the leadership of the various Neighborhood Watches for optimal performance through acquisition of security gadgets to aid their operations.
4. There is a need to ramp up intelligence gathering by the security operatives particularly the DSS in order to forestall the criminal attacks before they’re carried out.
5. Negotiating life insurance schemes for members of the Neighborhood Watches as well as provision of decent compensation packages for their family members in the event of loss of life, will serve to boost morale and enhance performance.
6. Increased funding for activities of the Neighborhood Watches by tapping into the security votes of the various local government areas as well as contributions of public spirited individuals.
7. The need to enhance synergy and collaboration between the local Vigilantee Groups and the security agencies for information sharing and crisis response management.
8. Need to explore conventional means of animal husbandry, with a view to eradicate the clashes between farmers and herders which has been identified as one of the drivers of the crisis.
At the end of the event, Hon. Umeha who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Prince Obinna Ozoejike thanked all the participants for taking out time to be at the parley and assured them of the escalation of the resolutions to Hon. Umeha who was unavoidably absent, for further review and implementation strategies.
