By Dennis Agbo
ENUGU—DISAGREEMENT among the traditional ruler, leaders and stakeholders of Etiti-Ozalla autonomous community in Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State has aborted inauguration of the community Neighbourhood Watch.
The state Ministry of Human Capital Development and Poverty Reduction had slated, Tuesday, for the inauguration of the neighbourhood watch but petitions and court actions instituted against the inauguration stopped the ministry from conducting the inuaguration, Tuesday.
The ministry, rather, went on a fact-finding to the community where the assembled community members expressed divergent views for and against the constitution of the watch in the community.
In the court process initiated by Mr. Anthony Omanu and three others, they sought for interlocutory injunction restraining the state government and the traditional ruler from establishing any vigilante force until a valid town union government is constituted.
In a separate petition to the local and state governments, the Ozalla Leaders of Thought under the chairmanship of Mr. Afam Ani and Cyril Aninwike as Secretary, prayed for the suspension of the inauguration of the vigillante force on the grounds that community’s development union neither discussed nor approved setting up of the Neighbourhood Watch.
They also contended that about five members of the planned Neighbourhood Watch were not indigenes of the community.
The director in charge of Neighbourhood Watch in the state ministry, Mr. Okechukwu Nweke, during the fact-finding mission, stressed the importance of setting up vigilante force after due and diligent processes would have been exhausted.
The traditional ruler of the community, Igwe Donald Nwochi pleaded with the dissenting members of the community to allow peace reign, stressing that the vigilante will help combat crimes in the community.
The post Crisis stalls inauguration of Enugu community Neighbourhood Watch appeared first on Vanguard News.
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