By Our Reporter
The South East Governors’ Forum has established a Joint Security Outfit code-named ‘EBUBEAGU’.
A communique issued on Sunday at the end of the South East Security Summit in Owerri, Imo State, stated that the headquarters of the outfit would be in Enugu.
It stated that a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders would be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Southeast Joint Security platform.
The communique described as unacceptable the level of banditry and criminality in the zone and charged security agencies in the area to redouble their efforts to contain it.
Read full text of the Communique…
COMMUNIQUE ISSUED BY SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS AND HEADS OF SECURITY AGENCIES AT THE END OF THE FIRST SOUTH EAST SECURITY SUMMIT HELD IN OWERRI ON SUNDAY APRIL 11th 2021
After exhaustive discussions on the current security challenges in the South East and with valuable contributions from participants at the first South East security summit in Owerri on this day Sunday April 11th 2021, it was resolved as follows:
1. To strongly and unequivocally condemn terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the South East. The meeting strongly condemns the burning of police stations, violent attacks on custodial centres with the unlawful release of inmates, and the killings including security personnel, natives/ farmers and headsmen.
2. That the five South East states are on the same page with the federal government on the issue of security challenges in the country. To this end, the meeting makes it absolutely clear that the Southeast will stand resolutely with the Federal Government to fight terrorists and bandits to a finish
3. That the political leadership in the South East has resolved to bring together all the arsenals at their command, as one united zone, to fight and flush out criminals and terrorist from the zone.
4. That the summit resolved that to achieve this, there is a need to galvanise all the relevant stakeholders in the Southeast, the political class, the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five Southeast states to ensure total success in the fight against criminality in the zone.
5. That the heads of all the security agencies in the Southeast have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone.
6. That to fast track crime-busting in the Southeast, the heads of security agencies have been mandated to draw up a comprehensive list of their logistics and material needs for sustainable success in the fight against criminality for the immediate provision by the leadership of the South East.
7. That a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Southeast joint security platform.
8. To applaud the initiative of the South East Security Summit and to make it a statutory summit that will convene every quarter while its hosting shall rotate among the five states.
9. The meeting resolved to maintain a joint security vigilance group for the South East otherwise known as Ebubeagu.
10. The meeting appreciated the formation of South East joint security outfit code-named ‘Ebubeagu’ with the headquarters in Enugu to coordinate our vigilance groups in the South East.
11. South East Governors requested the Acting IGP to stop the influx of IGP monitory units but to allow commissioners of police, state and zonal commands to handle their cases.
12. Meeting approved that the acting IGP and other security chiefs do invite the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo and CAN to find out the reason for increasing insecurity in the South East .
13. Meeting agreed that military policing in the South East should be adequately funded and become effective.
14. Meeting agreed that open grazing has been banned and security agencies should implement the ban.
15. The meeting encouraged a peaceful coexistence of farmers and herders to allow government to succeed in the fight against criminality.
