Group plans to deploy 500 members to schools to fight cultism in Bayelsa – Commander
Cultism
By Christian Ogbonna
Yenagoa, March 21, 2018 (NAN) The Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) on Wednesday said it planned to deploy 500 of its members to schools in Bayelsa as part of its efforts to curb cultism.
Its State Commander, Mr Tolumobofa Akpoebibo, told journalists in Yenagoa that the group had applied for approval from the state Ministry of Education to allow the voluntary security organisation go into public schools in the state.
He said that the presence of the voluntary security group would go a long way in re-orientating and securing school children from cult activities.
“The responsibility of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria is to complement the efforts of the police and other security agencies in curbing crimes in the state.
“VGN is very ready to see that primary and secondary schools in Bayelsa are being guarded because those that live in rural areas are not very exposed and they need enlightenment.
“They need to be guarded into positive thinking and into activities like sports in order to occupy their mines, so that they will not have any room to plan for cultism.
“As you can see, out of the 8 local governments in Bayelsa, it is only three that have passable roads, others are coastal lines and such areas need operation of our trained personnel to curb the vices.
“So, 500 of our trained men are available to be deployed to schools in the state, not to intimidate the students, but to re-orientate them and engage them in meaningful activities which can take their minds out of cultism,” Akpoebibo said.
On challenges hindering the effectiveness of the VGN’s operation in the state, the commander said their major challenge was lack of logistics to transverse the coastal terrain.
“We are soliciting assistance from the government to provide patrol vans, speed boats and security gadgets to enable us to contribute our quota towards fighting crimes in the state.”
NAN recalls that the Commissioner for Education, Mr Jonathan Obuebite, had on March 16, announced suspension of seven secondary schools students allegedly indulging in cultism.
Obuebite said that the students were not only into cultism, but standing as destructive elements to academic activities in schools. (NAN)
OOC/OSA/TÁ
Edited by Shittu Obassa/Tajudeen Atitebi