Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello on Tuesday directed the 161-member Special Vigilante Corps (SVC) to operate to complement the federal government security network to rid the state of bandits.
The state has been plagued by the activities of bandits, which had killed many residents, kidnapped hundreds, including Kagara schoolboys, and displaced thousands.
Bello said the move was a pilot scheme and more people would be recruited, trained, and deployed in other local government areas in the state..
He said so far the government has given 89 operational vehicles, 283 operational motorcycles, 30 bicycles, four tri-cycles to bolster security operations, in addition to 70 Nissan vehicles and 2,300 motorcycles to the vigilante group across the 25 area councils of the state.
Bello said the government has also funded military operations aimed at restoring peace to the state.
