The district commander of the Vigilance Group of Nigeria, Olatokunbo Folayan, has appealed to the National Assembly to pass the bill establishing the body.

In an interview on Tuesday in Ikorodu, Mr Folayan said this was for an improved and effective service to reduce criminality in Lagos State and the country at large, especially during the yuletide.

He urged residents of Ikorodu and other parts of Lagos to be security-conscious during and after the yuletide.

The commander said VGN, under his watch, would collaborate with other security agencies to sanitise the area of crimes and criminality and make the Ikorodu community peaceful.

“We know our people, and our people also know us; we don’t go on transfer like the police, who hardly have an idea of a community when newly posted,” said Mr Folayan. “All VGN officers are recruited from the same community that a criminal uses as his abode. So it is easy to fish him out in case he is involved in any criminal activity.”

He further stated that “we are already members of the security joint task force (JTF), but if we are given the necessary support, we will be more effective.” 

The VGN chief also noted that “sometimes people call us when they are in distress, but without having enough gadgets to combat the situation, our efforts will be fruitless.”

Mr Folayan further mentioned that “our officers and members are in every” local government of Lagos. 

(NAN)