Vigillate, a security outfit put in place by the community to see to security of their village or environ is doing more harm than good in Nigeria.
It was reported this morning in the Sun newspaper that one man was killed 2weeks before his son's wedding just because of N200.
Nigerians which way? Should we fold our arms while innocent souls die just like that?
Do you support Vigillante group across the country or should it be banned?
What is the work of our policemen?

Read excerpts below from www.sunnewsonline.com


61-year-old landlord clubbed to death by guards
By Peter Anosike
Wednesday, August 31, 2005


•Joseph Ogide
Photo: Sun News Publishing 
National Index 
The joy of a family in Iba new estate over the forthcoming wedding of their son was recently replaced with sorrow when the patriarch, a 61-year-old landlord, was killed over N200 levy.

Daily Sun gathered that Mr. Joseph Ogide was beaten to death by security guards, who had stormed his No 27 Chimik Street, Iba new site to collect the said levy.

According to David Ogide, the deceased’s son, who was scheduled to wed two day ahead, trouble started on July 26 when the chairman of Iba new site Community Development Association, and four members of the vigilance group that guards the area came to their home and demanded the sum of N200 from his father.

He said that the money was suppose to be a security levy, adding that his father told them to come back another time. He revealed that his father told the party to come back because lanlords in the area had decided not to pay the security dues.

"When my father told them that, the chairman of the Community Development Association told him that if he did not pay the money, something would happen. My father then asked why he was threatening him in his own house. Immediately, one of the members of the the vigilance group that came with him pounced on my father and dragged him out of the veranda and they began to beat him until he slumped."

Ogide said that when his father slumped and became motionless, his assailants fled, adding that the family tried to rivive him to no avail. They had taken the landlord to the hospital where he was certified dead.
"I could not believe it, but the doctor told me that medically he had been certified dead. We tried to take him to the mortuary, but it was difficult as it was late in the night," he revealed.

He said that the family lodged a report at Isashi police station, in Ojo, Local government Area, Lagos after which the police arrested relations of the prime suspects who had fled by then. The case, together with those arrested were transferred to the SCID, Panti. The suspects were however released on bail.
Ogide had written a pitition to Zone 2 command, leading to the rearrest of the suspects earlier granted bail.

"After I had written the petition, I was given five policemen who picked the suspects again. By then, the chairman of the Community Development Association was also arrested and taken to Zone 2.
The police Zone 2 Public Relations Officer, Mr. Lekan Ogumdare (ASP), confirmed the incident, adding that it was still being investigated by the command. He said that the case has been transferred to the zonal command from the SCID Panti.
Ogundare said the suspects could only be granted bail on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (BPP).

seems this topic (vigilante, good or bad?) was debated on this morning on radio (Cosmo FM Enugu)

well they are definately beneficial. it's just that the way they treat people is often rude. Vigilante peeps and Nigerians in general should learn to be polite. that way the world will definately be a more fun place.

Its just a case of jumping from frying pan to fire...

Our police are just armed robbers in uniform. The vigilante was instituted to help but thats also beign bastardized. They are now becoming worse than police. Killin' uselessly.
The 2 most important sectors for develepment of any country are "comatose" in Nigeria viz: "Security and Power"

GOD SAVE US!!!!

vigilante's are ok. . just rude?

what country do you live in? Oh, Nigeria, where the vigilante's you arm today will become the robbers of tomorrow. Give me a break, vigilantism is never a solution, it only makes the problem worse. What happens when you fix the police problem, you think the vigilante's will suddenly go away? Maybe some, the rest will just become another problem. Vigilante's are outside the law, and they know it. One day, it may be ok for them to kill the robber who attacked you. Tomorrow, they can be arrested for their crime. Police are the designated enforcers of the law. It is best for all of us to hold everyone accountable to the rule of law and work to make the police better, than take the law into our own hands.

I have seen a case where an individual used vigillante work to cover up to robb others in the night.
And he was caught by the police and even shot at the spot.

Vigilantes should never be seen as the solution...NEVER! kamakula is right, today they are "vigilante" and tomorrow they become armed robbers or gangs or even warlords (God Forbid!). I think steps should be put in place to completely overhaul the police in Nigeria. We should fix what we have rather than add more problems, the level of education of the police should be highered and they should be well trained in areas such as hostage crisis, forensics (that's were the ID card comes to play), ethic (so to be on peoples good side) etc. Police uniforms need to change and they should be trained with more modern weapons and paid better salaries on time. Police academies across the nation need to be rebuilt with modern and standard equipment and facilities. Once these things are put in place we won't need vigilantes.

But make we talk true, to overhaul police na work o!

Chxta:

But make we talk true, to overhaul police na work o!

Eh yes but let's get started, let's get something done.
Things can't continue this way.
We've got to move forward.

Yep, Kamakula's words are right on the money. Any society that relies on untrained civilian mobs to enforce the law is plunging toward the status of a failed state which has given up entirely on reforming its police force. Reports abound of vigilante mobs liaising with witch-doctors who place standing orders for human parts that have been harvested from "suspects" kidnapped by the vigilantes and butchered without any pretense of a trial.