Southeast adopts Ebube Agu joint vigilante to fight insecurity, bans open grazing

By NATIONAL PANEL Reporters

The South East Governors Forum has resolved to maintain a joint security outfit, 'Ebube Agu' to flush out all criminals and terrorists in the region.

This was contained in a communique issued by the Southeast Governors and heads of security agencies at the end of the first security summit of the region held on Sunday in Owerri, Imo State.

While reading the communique, the Chairman of the Southeast Governors Forum and the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Nweze Umahi stated that after exhaustive discussions on the current security challenges in the region and with valuable contributions from participants at the summit, strongly condemned terrorism and banditry in any part of Nigeria, particularly in the zone.

Umahi said that the summit also strongly condemned 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 herdsmen in the country especially in the South East geopolitical region. 

According to the communique, "the five South East states are the same page with the Federal government on the issue of security challenges in the country and stated that the region South would stand resolutely with the government at the centre to fight terrorists and bandits to a finish."

"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. 

"That the summit resolved that to achieve this, there is a need to galvanise all the relevant stakeholders in the south east, the political class,  the business community, the bureaucrats and the intelligentsia to provide all necessary support to security operatives in the five south east states to ensure total success in the fight against criminality in the zone.

"That the heads of all the security agencies in the south east have resolved to exchange intelligence in a seamless, effective new order that will help to checkmate crime in the zone. That to fast track crime-busting in the south east, 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. 

 "That a committee made up of security personnel, government officials and relevant stakeholders be set up to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the south east joint security platform.

"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 south east states. 

"The meeting resolved to maintain a joint security vigilante for the South East otherwise known as Ebube Agu.  The meeting appreciated the formation of South East joint security outfit co. Named Ebubeagu. Headquarters in Enugu to coordinate our vigilante in the South East."

Further, the South East Governors requested the Acting IGP to stop the influx of IGP monitory units but to allow cps and state and zonal commands to handle their cases.

The summit approved that the acting IGP and other security chiefs to invite the leadership of Ohaneze Ndigbo and CAN  to find out the reason for  increasing insecurity of the South East.

The meeting agreed that military policing in the South East should be adequately funded and become effective, banned open grazing, asked security agency to implement the ban while encouraging a peaceful coexistence of farmers and herders to allow governors to succeed. 

NATIONAL PANEL reported earlier that the summit was honoured by all the governors of the southeast states, the top government functionaries, the President Ohaneze Ndigbo and the security Chiefs in the region.