Edo Launch “Know Your Neighbor Campaign” To Tackle Insecurity

By Oluchi Ihediuche

Godwin Obseki of Edo state says his administration is building a robust security system to tackle the rise of insecurity in the state.

In his new year message, the Governor noted that the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests which resulted in jailbreaks worsened the case of insecurity in the system.

“The social and economic tension emanating from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the #EndSARS protests and its aftermath, which resulted in jailbreaks in Oko and Sapele Road, Benin City. Almost 2,000 prisoners escaped from these facilities and this has compounded the security situation in the state, which we are now dealing with.

He announced that the state is building safety systems that is citizen driven

“We are building a robust security system to deal with the peculiar challenges that we now face. We are essentially evolving a public safety system that is anchored on citizen participation with a bottom-up structure, such that citizens are actively engaged in protecting and securing their immediate communities in collaboration with the government.”

He added that the government would be launching the operation ‘Know Your Neighbour,’ campaign, where citizens would be requested to provide information on the identities of their neighbours

Obaseki advice residents to adhere to the Covid 19 directives, saying his election into office was a silver lining for the state

‌“In the midst of the gloom and despair, there was a silver lining for us in Edo State with the conduct of the September 19 governorship election, which against all predictions, turned out to be peaceful, credible and a watershed for our democracy as a nation.”