Ibom Community Watch

20/12/2024

Big shout out to my new rising fans! Øg Trïllíøñ

11/01/2024

Warmest greetings from the Ibom Community Watch

We wish you all a happy new year.

May this season be filled with joy, kindness, and safety for all.

Let's look out for one another and make this time of year truly special.

Happy holidays from Ibom Community Watch (ICW)

11/01/2024

Ibom Community Watch will protect women, reduce SGBV - Isantim Kenneth Okon
..Appeals for Inclusion of USD Women in State Executive Cabinet

Mary Ekere

The Commander of Ibom Community Watch, Isantim Kenneth Okon has assured the protection of Akwa Ibom women and a significant reduction in the rate of sexual and other forms of violence perpetrated against them and other persons, through the instrumentality of the Ibom Community Watch.

He noted that ensuring the safety of women and children, being vulnerable groups in the society, were part of the core responsibility of the Security Outfit launched on 14th December, 2023 by the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno.

Coordinator of the Neighbourhood Watch said this at the New Year thanksgiving celebration of Uyo Senatorial District Women Forum, themed, "Arise, shine; for your light has come"; held at the Forum's permanent site, Udo Udoma Avenue, Uyo on Wednesday, 10th January, 2024.

"If you read through the law that established the Ibom Community Watch, the Security Outfit is established to protect women, properties and to stop crime in our society".

"Based on this core mandate, I am assuring you that sexual and other gender based violence will be reduced, if not totally eradicated in the State".

Considering the vital role of women in politics and the highest number of votes garnered from them, the Coordinator who is as well Dean, College of Special Advisers to the Governor also made case for the inclusion of women from Uyo Senatorial District in the State Executive Council.

"This is the only Senatorial District that we do not have a woman in the State Executive Council. It is very necessary that we have 35% women inclusion in Uyo Senatorial District. Your Excellency, I am appealing that when next the State Executive Council will be reconstituted, noble women of characters from this Senatorial District should be appointed as Commissioners", he requested.

He therefore urged women from the Senatorial District to rise and take their rightful position in the State, being the leader of all Senatorial Districts in the State, by virtue of their ownership of the Governor and Wife of the Governor.

The Honourary Special Adviser to the Governor further donated to, and coordinated fund donation for the Women Forum Secretariat project.

11/01/2024

11/01/2024

NEWS :

A'IBOM GOVT. LAUNCHES IBOM COMMUNITY WATCH

In furtherance of the Security Management vision of the Akwa Ibom State government as contained in the ARISE Agenda, the State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has launched Ibom Community Watch, a neighborhood outfit to enhance security in rural communities and strengthen community policing liaison with security agencies.

Performing the launch at the Uyo Township Stadium, Governor Eno reiterated his administration's commitment to consolidate on the strides of the previous administrations in the area of peace and security.

He said the core vision of the outfit is to provide security at the grassroot level, provide intelligence for the mainstream security services and ensure that government facilities are not vandalized.

According to him, "they are to work under very strick supervision and control of the main security agencies, especially the Police. Their jobs will be to provide security information, to help in crowd control, to help protect basic Government assets and ensure that there is peace in all the areas where they are located."

Governor Eno expressed optimism that the Ibom Community Watch programme, beyond ensuring security at the rural communities and ensuring safety of public facilities from vandals, will also create employment for about five thousand youths, stimulate the economy by creating business for entrepreneurs.

He affirmed that all body and foot wears used by the security outfit must be produced locally.

"I would like to also say that not only are we creating jobs for these five thousand people, we are creating jobs for small business enterprises. The uniforms you see here are made by Akwa Ibomites. All of the boots that these men are wearing are made by Akwa Ibomites and that is part of stimulating the economy, so that our people who have handwork will continue to do more things," he stated.

Reiterating his earlier directive that all splinter security groups be collapsed under the Ministry of Internal Security for profiling and recruitment into the State scheme, the governor further stressed that the Ibom Community Watch will henceforth be in charge of crowd control at government events and controlling traffic caused by transporters and traders at some locations in the state to avoid conflict by splinter groups.

"These splinter groups may not have really helped us as a State, and sometimes we have clashes among those groups. It is better we put all of those groups together, train them, profile them and give them a permanent job and then move them off the streets so that they can be useful, not just to themselves, but also to the society.

On logistics, the governor said that buses, motorcycles and communication gadgets will be provided to the group on local government basis to help them navigate rural areas and ensure ease and timeliness in information sharing both within the group and with the security agencies

He thanked the regular security agencies for providing required technical support and training of the initial 550 personnel to kick-start the outfit and affirmed that the next batch of training and recruitment will be targeted at creating a team of locals from the riverine areas to help in marine security, stressing that 30% of the total 5,000 personnel target for the Ibom Community Watch should be women.

Governor Eno who used the occasion to explain the Security Trust Fund bill recently passed by the State House of Assembly and assented by him, noted that security is a serious business and needs funding which will require the contributions of non governmental organisations to succeed, hence the need for the law and an agency that comprises both government and private stakeholders.

"Government alone cannot fund it. We are going to set up a board comprising service personal, our own people and the private sector. We are going to work out a modality from January. Everyone who picks up business in Government would have to pay security fund, and everyone that does business in Akwa Ibom would have to contribute to the fund. The fund will not be managed by anyone in Government, but in a collaboration. The chairman of the trust fund would be a private citizen and a business man who will understand that these funds are meant only for security needs of our state," he added.

Earlier, Commissioner for Internal Security and Waterways, General Koko Essien rtd. noted that the launching of the Community Watch was a culmination of the training and passing out of the first five hundred and fifty trainees from Uyo Local Government Area, explaining that the outfit will accomodate five thousand youths in the State recruited from the political units for equity and fairness.

On his part, the Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Olatoye Durosinmi, commended the initiative of the Umo Eno led- government in tackling security challenges, saying that the engagement of 5000 youths will not only ensure a significant reduction in criminality, but enhance policing especially with the spelt out rules of engagement.

Also speaking, the State Coordinator of the Ibom Community Watch, Isantim Kenneth Okon, expressed delight with Governor Eno for his visionary leadership approach which has reduced security challenges to the barest minimum and taking thousands of youths out of the streets through the Community Watch programme.

He pledged unwavering commitment towards ensuring that the aim for which the programme was initiated is achieved by collaborating with the State Security agencies to ensure the Security, peace and harmony of the State.

Highpoint of the launch was unveiling of operational vehicles for the Community Watch programme.

Media Unit
Government House, Uyo
14/12/23

09/01/2024

: *Ibom Community Watch Apprehends 18 Suspected Burglars in Uyo*
- Kenneth Okon

Newly established security outfit, Ibom Community Watch (ICW), has reported the arrest of over 18 suspected criminals for alleged burglaries during the yuletide season in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom State.

The SSA to the Governor on Internal Security/Waterways, “Commander” Isantim Kenneth Okon revealed that the suspects targeted shops left unattended as owners moved to the Christmas village to sell their wares. The ICW's surveillance efforts in Uyo led to the apprehension of the suspects, who were subsequently handed over to the police for investigation.

He explained that the suspects, aware that most shop owners had locked their shops to trade at the Christmas village during the yuletide, took advantage of the situation by burgling the shops in their absence and attempting to steal the goods.

Okon elaborated that due to the ICW's surveillance efforts at various locations in Uyo, the suspects were apprehended and promptly handed over to the police for investigation.

He also highlighted that in 2023, unlike previous years, incidents of r**e and theft in the Christmas village significantly decreased as ICW personnel assumed security responsibilities in the area, effectively deterring criminal activities. He emphasized that the agency collaborates closely with other security forces, particularly in intelligence sharing.

"During the yuletide, we used to witness cases of r**e, car theft, and other crimes, especially at the Christmas village. We heard stories of how some individuals would forcibly take advantage of others. To counter this, we instructed our recruits to secure the area, and this measure has yielded significant results; we have heard fewer such incidents."

Additionally, he noted, "ICW apprehended over 18 suspects who attempted to break into people's stalls as individuals had moved to the Christmas village. We apprehended them and handed them over to the police for further investigation. This is purely a security matter and not a political affair."

He further emphasized, "When criminals strike, they do not consider political affiliations; thus, security concerns everyone."

Acknowledging that all ICW recruits would undergo profiling, Okon urged the public to dispel any notions of political bias within the organization and to recognize that the recruits are not affiliated with cultist groups. He stressed that the outfit is purely focused on security and encouraged everyone to participate in security matters.

In response to concerns about political affiliations and the nature of the recruits, Okon stressed that the ICW is solely focused on security matters and encouraged community involvement in safeguarding the area.

Meanwhile, the Director of the Centre for Human Rights & Accountability Network (CHRAN), Otuekong Franklyn Isong, commended the state government for enacting laws to address internal security issues. Isong urged the ICW to address various security threats, including vandalism, cultism, and trafficking, and emphasized the need for ongoing training of recruits. Additionally, he called for the establishment of a human rights desk to address public complaints and suggested extending the agency's presence to university campuses and addressing agricultural issues related to cattle rearers.

Isong also appealed to the governor to provide additional resources, including more gunboats, to enhance maritime security and to consider establishing a cattle ranch to address open grazing concerns. Finally, he affirmed CHRAN's commitment to oversight the activities of the security agency in ensuring diligence and effectiveness.

14/12/2023

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IBOM COMMUNITY WATCH

Ibom Community Watch is a state security outfit established by the Akwa Ibom State government, under the supervision of the Ministry of Internal Security and Waterways and other security agencies, especially the Nigeria Police Force.

Ibom Community Watch is established by a Bill for the Establishment of Ibom Community Watch and for Connected Purposes. This bill was signed into Law by His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno on December 13, 2023.

Hon. Isantim Kenneth, Dean of College of Honourary Special Advisers is the Coordinator of Ibom Community Watch.

The Ibom Community Watch will employ 5000 Akwa Ibom youths, trained on Security duties, intelligence gathering, crowd control, self defence, basic discipline, traffic management and asset protection.

The selection of the 5000 watchers was done on political unit basis for equity not for political reasons as this is strictly a pseudo-security outfit and will not be involved in any political schemes.

The 550 youths commissioned by the Governor at the passing out ceremonies today, December 14, 2023 are the first set of trainees to be deployed and their duty post is Uyo Local Government Area.

The training of the Ibom Community watchers will span across the ten federal constituencies.

The Ibom Community Watch is not replacing security agencies but to partner them in keeping Akwa Ibom safe, secure and peaceful.

Ibom watchers will have a representative in every unit in the state to provide basic security intelligence on all security issues to security agencies and government.

The Ibom Community Watch Constables are costumed by indigenous tailors and shoemakers from the Ibom - LED.

Ibom Community Watch is another milestone of the Governor Umo Eno's led administration under the Security Management aspiration of the Arise Agenda.

13/12/2023

The Ministry of Internal Security and *Waterways* is set to pass out 550 recruits of the Ibom Community Watch on December 14, 2023 at the Uyo Township Stadium.

Recall that, Brig. General Koko Essien retired, Honourable Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Waterways, alongside the Commissioner of Police, CP Olatoye Durosinmi, the Honorary Special Adviser, DIG Ogunjemilusi Adeyemi (rtd) mni, the Chairman, House Committee on Security, Youths and Sports/Member representing Uyo State/Member Representing Uyo State Constituency, Hon. Uwemedimo Asuquo, at the instance of His Excellency, Governor Umo Eno, had flagged off the training of 550 youths from Akwa Ibom, drawn from Uyo LGA on December 4.

These youths have undergone a series of training on security duties, intelligence gathering, self defence, basic discipline, crowd control, traffic management, and asset protection in the past 12 days and have been certified fit and ready for deployment to their communities for security duties in support of thr police and other security agencies.

The Ibom Community Watch is in line with the Governor's goal of keeping Akwa Ibom safe and peaceful.

On this note, you are invited to join the passing out ceremony and formal launch of the Ibom Community Watch by His Excellency, which is another milestone of the Golden Era.