Ogoni group urges decisive handling of insecurity

An Ogoni social cultural group, KAGOTE, has charged council chairmen to prioritise insecurity in their domains.

Made up of four council areas, including Khana, Gokana, Tai and Elemene, the ethnic nationality regretted that its communities had witnessed insecurity to the point of almost being blacklisted from the commonwealth of Rivers State.

Speaking at the weekend after inspecting the newly built Police Area Command and Department of State Services (DSS) complexes by Tai council chairman, Okpe Mbakpone, KAGOTE President, Emmanuel Deyaah, urged a united front against criminality and insecurity in Ogoniland.

Stating that insecurity is a national issue, he implored government at all levels to tackle the menace headlong in tune with the peculiarities of their immediate environments.

Deyaah pointed out that measures like empowerment would sustain peace in the oil-rich area.

He said: “You have taken one of the key issues that bother us as a country to make it a priority – which is security.

“Tai Local Government Area is calm relatively, and we believe that it is your effort backed by God that has made that possible.

“We have gone through a lot as a people. We need to interact among ourselves as a people to forge a united front against crimes and insecurity.”

Responding, the Tai council boss said his administration had shown commitment to the peace and security of all the communities, adding that the calm being enjoyed was on account of series of strategic engagements.

Similarly, his Eleme counterpart, Obarilomate Ollor, confirmed that security had improved in his council, as his administration has been decisive with insecurity.

“Security has greatly improved in this our area. We are not taking it lightly with anybody who wants to destabilise the peace in our local government and even in the neighboring local governments. I know other local governments under KAGOTE are also doing the same to sustain peace.

“Generally, We have made here unsafe for cultists and criminals,” he added.

Ollor, however, deplored the existing relationship between Eleme people and the business outfits in their land.

He advised the establishments to improve the lot of the people, lamenting: “We are wallowing in poverty amid plenty. We are trying to put a control system where we can have proper coordination between the establishments so we do not have crises.”