…Seeks Rivers State Government’s Support
Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
The Chairman of Diobu Vigilante Association, Comrade Alalibo Gogo Abate, has expressed happiness that his members’ selfless service in terms of security maintenance in the Diobu axis of Port Harcourt has yielded immense results as criminals no longer terrorise the area as before.
He made this disclosure during an exclusive chat with theportcitynews.com today in Port Harcourt.
Explaining why he decided to initiate the idea of securing the Diobu neighbourhood without the support of anybody, Alalibo Gogo Abate said his action was informed by the need to secure lives and property in the area when the rate of criminality became very high in Diobu after the amnesty.
He said as a resident in the area, he found it difficult to fold his hands and watch as people’s lives were being endangered by criminals on daily basis, adding that when it became unbearable, he decided to mobilize some of the good boys who also had the same passion he had to help in checking the activities of the criminals.
Comrade Abate said: “We have been operating for over nine years now. After the amnesty, some of the people started engaging in criminal activities such as robbery, kidnapping, snatching of phones, cult activities and so many other criminal acts.
“As somebody who grew up here, I could not just watch and do nothing while strangers come here and commit all sorts of crimes. “So we arranged ourselves to secure our neighbourhood. Nobody supported us, but we have been able to chase away the criminals.
“We will catch them and hand them over to the police and many of them were sent to prison. It was when the government saw what we were doing that they called us and trained us two years ago. The DPOs of Mile 1, Mile 2, Mile 3 and Iloabuchi were the ones that officially trained about 85 of us and gave us Identity Cards. They are collaborating with us.”
Comrade Abate, who said that they sometimes go on ragging to raise money to support themselves while he also uses his meager funds to sponsor the group, called on the state government to assist them with logistics and also incorporate them into the Rivers State Neighbourhood Vigilante Group recently signed into law by Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
He also appealed to well meaning individuals and corporate bodies in Port Harcourt to support them, adding that most of his boys do not have jobs but have been their lives to secure Diobu Town.
