Dogara raises concerns on legalising Vigilante Group of Nigeria

In view of the push to legally recognise activities of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria through a bill currently before the House of Representatives, Speaker of the House Hon. Yakubu Dogara has raised several concerns on whether or not bill to consider to become a law.

The Bill seeks to establish the Vigilante Group of Nigeria charged with the responsibilities among others of providing community policing, maintenance of law and order in communities and community service for Nigerians.

The bill also states the mission of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria as to ‘help secure a safe and just society in which the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families and communities are properly safeguarded.’

These, the speaker said might overlap with the responsibilities of existing security agencies like the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and even the Peace Corps of Nigeria that is being proposed.

According to Dogara “It seems that there is already in existence a group that is currently called Vigilante Group of Nigeria which is apparently a widespread security based organisation that works at the grassroots level with establishment at the wards in every geopolitical zones of the Country.”

During a public hearing on the bill in Abuja on Thursday, the Speaker urged the committee to critically evaluate the request of the bill and appropriately advise the House on the bill.

“The Committee should further be guided by constitutional provisions on this issue. Item 45 of the Exclusive Legislative List, empowers the National Assembly, exclusively, to legislate on ‘Police and other government security services established by law”. Furthermore Section 214(1) provides that “There shall be a police force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section, no other police force shall be established for the federation or any part thereof”.

“The pertinent question to ask is whether this is a branch of the police force, or yet another security service being established by law? It is also pertinent for the Committee to find out whether the legal framework sought to be established merely gives authority to an existing organisation by sort of licensing them or whether a general legal framework is being legislated upon for government to operationalise at its discretion?

Dogara further raised the question if the bill is yet another call for community policing.

“If community policing is the main reason for this bill, is it not within the operational purview of the Nigerian Police Force? Is vigilante services not part of social activities by various towns and communities in Nigeria as to make it a residual matter within the authority of State Governments?

“In view of the existence of new quasi-security organisations such as Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and even the Peace Corps of Nigeria that is being proposed, do we still need another at the National level? Do we have the resources to set up yet another security organisation instead of properly funding the existing ones and increasing their mandate where necessary?

“In view of the fact that almost all the States in Nigeria have enacted laws that recognize and regulate the activities of the Vigilante Group, should the current security services not develop a robust framework to coordinate and support each other’s activities?”