Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, a Fulani socio-cultural association, has inaugurated the nomad vigilante group in Nasarawa State to complement conventional security agencies.

Bello Bodejo, the national president of the association, who inaugurated the group on Wednesday in Lafia, said that its formation became imperative given the increasing security challenges in the country.

He said that the first batch of the vigilantes comprised 1,144 Fulani youths from various communities in the 13 local government areas (LGAs) of Nasarawa State.

Mr Bodejo added that the profiling of other interested persons was ongoing, as they targeted to recruit up to 4,000 youths for proper coverage of all Fulani communities.

The national president also promised that the group would assist in fishing out all criminal elements in Fulani communities and hand them over to the security agencies for necessary action.

He explained that the vigilante group would assist conventional security agencies in the areas of intelligence gathering and surveillance with a view to tackling kidnapping and banditry, among others.

Mr Bodejo assured that the group would cooperate with security agencies and adhere to the provisions of the law in carrying out their duties.

He, therefore, appealed to Nigerians to desist from ethnic profiling of criminals and treat criminals as such, irrespective of their ethnicity.

“Every ethnic group has criminal elements among them, so if a Fulani man or woman commits a crime, he or she should be treated as a criminal just like others and not a Fulani criminal,’’ he added.

The national president said that the association would also inaugurate similar groups in other states of the federation.

In his remarks, Umar Nadada, Commissioner of Police (CP) in Nasarawa State, commended the association for the initiative and said that the establishment of the group was apt given the security challenges in the state and county.

Mr Nadada said that the police were ready to work with all groups interested in the security of lives and property in the country.

He, however, urged the group to always inform security agencies about anything suspicious in their respective areas for prompt action.

The CP advised them not to take the law into their own hands but to collaborate with security agencies for proper security in the state.

He pointed out that the nomad vigilante group were not allowed to carry firearms during their operations.

The inauguration had in attendance representatives of the Nigeria Army and other security agencies.

(NAN)