From Ifeoma Ejiofor Nnewi
Following recent attack on a church at Lilu community Ihiala LGA of Anambra State, a security expert, Amb. Dr. John Metchie has advised Gov Charles Soludo to consider forest guards for local security in the state.
Recall that during the Lilu attack, some worshippers were killed by the dare devil hoodlums, many others sustained varying degrees of injuries, the church was also burnt down alongside the vehicles parked inside the church premises.
Metchie maintained that it has become very necessary for the government in power to establish forest guards as part of the state’s security architecture especially in forested areas like the Anambra-South senatorial district hitherto under the captivity of non-state actors.
He said that the forest guards which are directly domiciled in the office of the National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, are well-trained security personnel specifically meant to comb forested regions of the country to ward off criminal elements in the bushes.
Metchie is of the opinion that forest guards could help tackle the menace of unknown gunmen in places like Ihiala, Orumba-North and South and some other locations in the state, stressing that deployment of the forest guards in troubled areas would indeed be very complimentary to the services of the police and the military.
The security expert who commended the efforts of Agunechemba and Udogachi security operatives noting that relative calm has returned in troubled communities following their expeditions however insisted that training and retraining of local security personnel would go a long way in improving quality of their services especially in the use of firearms.
Metchie who singlehandedly built a joint military base in Umueri community for security purposes in the Omambala region of the state, emphasized that forest guards could be conscripted into the Udo Ga Chi security team and their primary focus would be the forests where criminals retire after their nefarious activities.
