Governor Seriake Dickson has inaugurated a state security outfit code named Bayelsa State Volunteers with a membership of 1, 000 youths to complement the efforts of other security outfits in reducing crimes and other related vices.
The governor enjoined them to work closely with the constituted authorities in their communities to forestall any security breach.
He said: “I want to specifically charge you all, because of the times we are living in. You have to be, particularly watchful and make sure that people do not use you to do things that you are not meant to do.
“You are to mobilise support for the government and work with the security agencies; you are to work with all constituted authorities in your communities. Where you suspect any imminent breach of the peace, you are to alert the agencies and that is why your overall coordinator is a police officer.
“You are also going to support the great work the state is doing and ensure that the youths in this state are better informed about what we are doing. That is very important, because when they want to create confusion, they just spread false stories.”
Dickson said the volunteers and their coordinators were expected to engage in community-based intelligence-gathering to aid the other state security agencies in stemming crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and piracy on the waterways.
Responding, the state coordinator of the volunteers, Chief Superintendent of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Asufi, assured the government of their readiness to work towards actualising the assigned objectives.
