Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has stressed the need for communities to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in information sharing in order to deal with insecurity across the state.

Obaseki who was represented by his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, stated this Monday in Ovia North East Local Government Area during an enlarged Town Hall Meeting convened to find a lasting solution to the security situation in the area.

The Governor said that the present administration under his watch, believed that security must be localized to guarantee the safety of lives and property, hence the setting up of a security network to assist the police in the fight against crimes and criminalities across the state.

He maintained that Community Policing gives more sense of security to local dwellers and integrates the mainstream security agencies as part of the neighborhood through the exchange of vital security Information.

“Efforts of the government can only yield the expected outcome when community members assume their responsibility by furnishing security agents with useful information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of criminal elements.

“Edo state is known for its great sense of hospitality where we welcome people but some elements are trying to invade our midst because we are accommodating. We must collectively resist any of such attempts by aligning ourselves with the goals of promoting a strong community neighborhood through timely information circulation,” the Governor said.

He urged members of the community to re-enact old values where government properties in their domain were protected and guarded against vandalism.

He further stated that the masses were the real government, “while we are just leaders of the government. Development in the communities are brought about with taxpayers’ money, as such, we must claim ownership of government effort to give value to investment and avoid allowing others to destroy government properties and development in your environment.”

“When everyone guards his/her street and every community member protects the community, then the local government will be safe and once our local government is safe, we all will have a safer state. That is the essence of collaboration,” he added.

Earlier in his remarks, Edo State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Philip Ugbaudu, noted that indigenes of the community have a responsibility to protect their area and appealed for useful information, stating that arrangement has been concluded to include all interested groups in the security arrangement.

“A community leader in Ovia Federal Constituency and Security Stakeholders in Edo State have agreed to empower and equip the various vigilante groups in the area to arrest the spate of kidnappings around the Benin Ore expressway,” the Police Commissioner revealed.

On his part, Coordinator, Edo State Security Network, Haruna Yusuf, said the Edo State government has bridged the gap of quick response to security issues with the establishment of the Edo State Community Vigilante Network as an intervention to community security concerns.

Head of various security networks in Ovia North East and other stakeholders expressed gratitude to the Edo State Government for taking security issues to their doorstep. They also appealed to the government to strengthen the vigilante network for optimal performance.