Taraba Govt Moves to Unify Vigilantes, Hunters Under Single Security Framework

By Andrew Ojih, Jalingo

In a bid to enhance community policing and improve coordination among local security actors in tackling banditry and kidnapping, the Taraba State Government has disclosed that it has begun the process of bringing vigilantes, forest hunters, and other local security outfits into a single security framework under the Taraba State Marshal.

The Commandant of the Taraba Marshal, Agyole Abeh (Rtd), made this known during an exclusive interview with Metoricpost in Jalingo. He revealed that the government has presented a bill to the State House of Assembly for the formal incorporation of local security outfits across the state.

He explained that when passed into law, the bill would streamline all local security outfits under the Taraba Marshal to ensure intelligence cohesion and operational efficiency.

Abeh further disclosed that the government is investing in security infrastructure, including drone stations and specialised equipment, to support security agencies.

He noted that lawmakers began deliberations on the bill last year and that it has already passed its first reading in the House.

“The executive bill, initiated by Governor Agbu Kefas as part of his 2025–2026 security reforms, is designed to enhance community policing and better coordinate the efforts of local security actors in tackling banditry and kidnapping. This move will improve security outcomes, strengthen community trust, enhance coordination among security agencies, and boost confidence in vigilante operations,” he said.

Abeh added that the Taraba Marshal Security Guard was officially established as a legal entity under the Taraba State Marshal Security Guard Law 2021 to complement federal security agencies in addressing security challenges in the state.

According to him, the government has compiled the names of all hunters and vigilante groups across the 16 local government areas to actualise the bill’s objectives.

He stressed that once the bill is passed into law, any security outfit or individual not covered under it would not be recognised by the state government and would be declared illegal.

He emphasised the critical role of the Taraba Marshal, hunters, vigilantes, and other local outfits as the backbone of intelligence gathering for security agencies.

“When police, military, or NSCDC personnel are deployed to remote areas where they are unfamiliar with the terrain, local vigilantes and hunters provide vital information and guide them to crime scenes.

It is the locals, who understand the hinterland, that are most valuable in intelligence gathering. That is why the Taraba State Government is making deliberate efforts to incorporate them into the state’s security architecture,” he explained.