Insecurity: Hunters besiege NASS, demand legal backing to confront insurgents

By Christiana Ekpa

Hunters Group of Nigeria (HGN) yesterday asked for an opportunity and recognition under the law to assist the federal government tackle the ravaging insecurity in the land by confronting the bandits and insurgents’

The association which besieged the national assembly main gate numbering over one thousand from across the country on Tuesday begged to compliment the efforts of the conventional security agencies in apprehending bandits and the insurgents terrorizing the country.

The Commandant of the Akwa Ibom State Command of the organization, John Essien who spoke with Journalists said they needed the backing of the law.

Essien however said they were at the National Assembly for a public hearing on a Bill for an Act to establish the Nigerian Hunters Council of Nigeria.

“The Bill has gone through the first and second reading and the reason we are here is for public hearing. As you can see we have members across the entire villages.

“When you talk about the security challenge, if the opportunity is given to us, we can perform very well because as community-based officers you know all the strangers that come into your environment and you can easily identify those that are not from there. Maybe from there, you can be able to find out what the person’s mission is all about.

“That is the reason we are here to tell the government that we can do the job. I want to tell us that if the opportunity is given to hunters, the security challenge in the country would be minimized.

“If you look at our Facebook and social media, you see that we have been doing a lot of work arresting kidnappers, criminals, name them.

“With our presence and other security agencies, when we come together, it makes the job easier. So that is why we here today. We believe the government would not hesitate to give us a try”, he said.