News Editor
From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi
Benue State Government has engage the services of ex – servicemen and women from the military, the police and the paramilitary to help curb crime and criminality across the state.
Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, who expressed the state government’s desire to tackle crime in the state, said the veterans have been co-opted into Benue State Civil Protection Guard (CPG) as zonal and local government commanders to bring in their wealth of experience to strengthen the command, instill discipline and foster professionalism in their operations.
Har disclosed this while speaking to newsmen after a brief workshop with the veterans, senior officers and operatives at the State command headquarters in Makurdi, on Thursday.
He explained that the establishment of Civil Protection Guard Quick Rapid Response CPG QRS was to curb cultism and other untoward activities as the season of festivities approach.
The Security Adviser, however informed that the ex service men will act as commanders at the zones and local government areas while existing commanders will serve as operational commanders under the veterans for proper guidance and ethics of the job.
He said “What is happening here today is a mini workshop between the existing commanders of the former volunteer guards and Benue state livestock guards, which has been collapsed as the “CPG commanders” at local government and zonal levels.”
“We also have co-opted some retiree veterans of the military, police and paramilitary to also be called commanders of the CPG. The essence is for them to instill that discipline that they knew over the years into the CPG, because operatives of the CPG were not formally trained.
“The training they got is a minimal training that require more experience from these veterans and support, both in tactics and professionalism to become a formidable force in Benue.”
He stated that the CPG Quick Rapid Squad, (QRS) is currently undergoing training to complement other security agencies in tackling crime and criminality in the communities.
