Ogun State merges Vigilante Service into 1 Outfit

The Ogun State Government said on Tuesday that it had successfully merged the Remo Neighborhood Watch with the state Vigilance Service.

The Remo Neighborhood Watch was said to be the initiative of the Akarigbo in Council with support from other royal fathers, who financed and managed the security outfit to curb the high rate of crime in Sagamu and its environs.

The state government however said the merger of the Remo Neighbourhood Watch with the VS0 was part of the efforts to end duplicity of functions as well as lingering clash of interests and put in place a unified vigilance outfit that could be centrally managed for effective security in Sagamu and its environs.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Muyiwa Oladipo, who said this at a meeting with stakeholders in Abeokuta, said the merger was imperative not only to end insecurity confronting vigilance activities in Sagamu communities but also to have a strong and effective vigilance outfit to complement the effort of the police in curbing crime at the grassroots.

Oladipo, according to a statement by the ministry’s Press Officer, Lateef  Ositelu, said the merger took gradual process of due consultation from November 2012 till the final merger in May 2013. - Punch