Rights Group Urges Abia Security Trust Fund to Equip Homeland Security

The Foundation for Environmental Rights, Advocacy and Development (FENRAD) has commended the Abia State government for establishing the Abia State Security Trust Fund, stating that the initiative would significantly boost homeland security efforts across the state.

In a statement signed by Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, FENRAD's Executive Director, the organization expressed concern over emerging cases of cult-related violence and other social vices that continue to plague communities in Abia State.

The rights group emphasized that the current security framework in community policing and homeland security requires better equipment to meet the growing complexity of security challenges confronting local communities.

"Criminal elements have continued to exploit the gaps in intelligence gathering and sharing," Nwafor noted in the statement, calling for a comprehensive evaluation of personnel structure, recruitment processes, and welfare systems for local community vigilante groups.

The FENRAD Executive Director highlighted that inter-community disputes, increasing youth involvement in criminal activities, and rising cult cases in schools and neighborhoods underscore the urgent need to strengthen community policing in Abia State, particularly in identified flashpoint areas.

Nwafor further urged traditional rulers, youth groups, and other stakeholders to collaborate with security agencies by activating alarm systems that would facilitate prompt intelligence gathering and sharing with relevant security operatives.

The Abia State Security Trust Fund was launched last Thursday in Umuahia with the primary objective of providing funds and equipment for security agencies to sustain their operations against criminals and their hideouts across the state.

This development comes amid growing concerns about security challenges in various parts of the state, with recent incidents including an attack by gunmen in Army uniform that resulted in the death of a soldier and a driver at a construction site in Abia.

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