The creation of the Abia State Security Trust Fund has been praised by the Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development, or FENRAD, which claims it will improve national security.
However, in a statement issued by its Executive Director, Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, FENRAD voiced alarm about what he described as a rise in cult-related violence and other social vices in the state.
According to the panel, which concluded that homeland security and community policing’s current security framework has to be strengthened, such an approach would assist staff in addressing the increasingly complex security issues that local communities face.
The FENRAD Executive Director, who said that “criminal elements have continued to exploit the gaps in intelligence gathering and sharing,” also called for a comprehensive evaluation of personnel structure, recruitment process, and welfare of local community vigilante groups.
Nwafor noted that cult cases in schools and neighborhoods, growing youth involvement in criminal activities, and intercommunal conflicts highlighted the urgent need to strengthen community policing in Abia State, particularly in flashpoints.
He added that in order to facilitate timely intelligence collection and sharing with security agencies, traditional rulers, youth organizations, and other relevant authorities should work together by turning on alarm systems.
Last Thursday, the Abia State Security Trust Fund was established in Umuahia with the goal of giving security forces the money and tools they need to continue fighting criminals and their camps.
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