8 Functions of Nigerian Vigilante Group

In this post, we look at the functions of the Nigerian Vigilante Group. The Nigerian Vigilante comprises Nigerian citizens who undertake law enforcement in their community without legal authority, typically because the legal agencies are thought to be inadequate.

Inadequate public police in Nigerian society, whose responsibility is to protect and guide the lives of the citizens and their properties has led to the introduction of the vigilante group in Nigeria.

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So almost every state in the country gets its vigilante group. As I said, the vigilante group came to be as a result of insufficient policemen in Nigerian society to protect the lives and properties of the citizens, so what the vigilante group does is to assist the police force in combating crime, in every nooks and cranny of the Nigerian society.

The vigilante group can be classified into three different groups. For example, there is this vigilante group, whose members are made up of some young men with an able body.

They are found in villages. What this set of vigilante group does is to get themselves organized, and they will patrol these villages during the night with the aim of safeguarding villagers.

These villagers would include their family members and their neighbours. The vigilante group indeed has served a great deal of purpose by protecting these villagers against robbery attacks during the night hours.

This set of vigilante groups may not be paid, they are doing it voluntarily. The second group of the vigilante can be recruited by a community, and the community would be contributing money to pay them at the end of every month, whereas, the third group are those with uniform, sponsored by the government, and they are entitled to every machinery that would help them in carrying out their functions, including monthly salaries.

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Functions Of The Nigerian Vigilante Group:

There are numerous functions assigned to the Nigerian vigilante group, and in this article, we are going to look at quite a number of them together.

1. Vigilante Group Protects Lives And Properties

I have said here earlier that, due to the insufficient police force in Nigerian society to carried out their functions, the Nigerian vigilante group was introduced to assist in meeting this demand, and one of such demands has been the protection of lives and properties.

This function on the part of the Nigerian vigilante group is very necessary, given the important attached to human lives, and much more important too, their properties must be protected, the Nigerian vigilante group has been functioning in protecting the lives of Nigerian and their properties.

2. Vigilante Group Maintains Peace And Order

This aspect of function has been attached to the Nigerian vigilante group. It is expected of it to maintain peace and order within society.

For instance, anytime there are social functions or public functions, the services of the Nigerian vigilante group can best be employed to assist in ensuring that, peace and order are maintained in order to guarantee the success of such event particularly, those recruited by the government.

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3. Vigilante Group Assist In Combating Crimes

This is another function of the Nigerian vigilante group, they assist in fighting crimes in the Nigerian society, particularly, in the night.

During the night hours, the vigilante group will organize itself and go for patrolling for the purpose of ensuring that any robbery attempt is averted.

By so doing villagers, whose family members of the vigilante group are among are being protected from robbery attack.

4. Vigilante Group Arrests Crime Offenders

The Nigerian vigilante group does not only prevent crimes, they can go as well as arresting any individual caught committing crime, because crime commission is invariably the same thing as encroaching or infringing the rights of the members of the public, and when you are caught, you are going to be arrested by the members of the Nigerian vigilante group, and once you got arrested by the Nigerian vigilante group, they will immediately hand you over to police for prosecution.

5. Vigilante Group Detects And Prevents Crime

It is the function of the Nigerian vigilante group to detect crimes, particularly, now that, there is increasing wave of terrorism and insurgency in the country, Nigeria, it is expected of the Nigerian vigilante group to detect crimes by monitoring every movement of any suspected individual within a locality, and also report same to the relevant authorities.

By so doing, the Nigerian vigilante group would definitely prevent crimes in Nigerian society. The Nigerian vigilante group lately has been assisted in fighting Boko Haram.

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6. Vigilante Group Makes Efforts To Understand Their Immediate Localities

It is expected from the Nigerian vigilante group to make efforts in understanding their primary locality, the reason is obvious.

This is because they are standing chances of feeding the relevant authorities with relevant information that would help exposed criminals within these areas. And more so, in case there is a need to ambush criminals within these areas.

7. Organizes Sensitization Programs For Members

Sensitization programs for members of the Nigerian vigilante group have been seen as being necessary and important, since this will disposition them to carry their functions creditably, without taking laws into their hands.

Such sensitization program to help members of the Nigerian vigilante group to be civil, while carrying out their functions, as well as dealing with their victims in more appropriate way, because, for instance, it is expected of the Nigerian vigilante group to always handover their victims alive to the police, so that, they could be interrogated.

Going by this, the training will make them more merciful in dealing with their victims. So to achieve this, the Nigerian vigilante group must organize lectures and sensitization programs for its members.

8. Vigilante Group Handovers Everything Recovered During Operation To The Relevant Authority

Anything recovered during operations by the Nigerian vigilante group is returned to the appropriate quarters, nothing recovered is expected to remain in the custody of the Nigerian vigilante group.

Therefore, it is one of the major functions of the Nigerian vigilante group to return all exhibits to help in further investigation purposes.

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Conclusion

In most cases, the Nigerian vigilante group is exposed to unnecessary attack by men of the underworld, even the Boko Haram has over time, posed so much thread to the Nigerian vigilante group.

Going by this, there is a need, therefore, that armed officials be attached to the Nigerian vigilante group, while in operations.

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