To curb the excesses of armed banditry terrorism and other forms of violent extremism in Zamfara State, Governor Bello Matawalle have launched a new state-owned Security Outfit which he named “Community Protection Guards (CPG)”
The CPG will apparently complement the Nigeria Police and the army to stem the wave of killings and banditry in the state.
The structure and form of the CPG is just like the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun, which began operation in January 2020.
Training of the initial 500 guards, recruited from all the 19 emirates in the state has begun.
Governor Bello Matawalle flagged off the training on Saturday in Gusau.
Matawalle said Zamfara State under his watch is now moving towards implementing new security measures. He said last week that the guards will bear arms.
He said the decision to establish Community Protection Guards was informed by his administration’s desire to work out all possible options to deal with the increasing act of banditry causing loss of lives, untold hardships and rupturing inter-communal peace in some parts of the state.
To the Community Protection Guards, Governor Bello Matawalle informed them of the task ahead of them, and urged them to concentrate fully on their training.
Matawalle added that at the end of the training, the CPG members will be deployed to their various communities in the 19 Emirate Councils of the state to energetically complement the security forces in the fight against banditry and sundry crimes.
The Commissioner of Police, Zamfara State Police Command, CP Ayuba Elkana said the training of the Community Protection Guards was part of series of measures taken by Governor Bello Matawalle in order prevent the state from all forms of crimes.
Elkana while expressing the command’s full support to Governor Matawalle in the fight against banditry, urged the recruits to always be law abiding, God- fearing and objective in the discharge of their duties in order to achieve the desired goals.
Commissioner of Security and Home Affairs, Rtd DIG Mamman Ibrahim Tsafe said the establishment of the Community Protection Guards was aimed to assist the security agencies in securing the state from all heinous crimes in all parts of the state.
The occasion was attended by the Speaker, Zamfara State House of Assembly, Nasiru Muazu Magarya and Secretary to the State Government Alhaji Kabiru Balarabe.
Chief of Staff Government House Gusau, Malam Ibrahim Suleiman, State Head of Service, Alhaji Kabiru Muhammad Gayari, members of the state Executive Council and Heads of security agencies serving in the state, also attended the training flag off.