The Commander of the Hunters Group of Nigeria, Lagos State Command, Chief Oguniyi Balogun, on Tuesday advised criminals to repent from crime as the group would forestall any criminal activity in the state.
Balogun, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, said his officers had been positioned to nip in the bud any clandestine crime in every nook and cranny of the state, especially during Yuletide.
He said: “We are combat ready for any eventuality, not only during Christmas season but at any time.
”We are always here every day to do combatant even if there’s no Christmas, anything can happen at any time; so you have to be prepared.
”So Christmas is just like any day.”
On whether the group can prosecute, Balogun said that they could not prosecute but could arrest and hand over to the police.
”We are to arrest; we are for kidnapping and anything evil though we will only arrest and hand over to police for prosecution,” the commander said.
He described the HGN as ”very effective,” saying its spread in the localities and proximity to the people gave the group an edge to combat crime.
Balogun said that after the #EndSARS protest which led to the destruction of property worth billions of Naira, the group had been recording a lot of achievements, including recovery of two AK47 rifles from Agege Local Government Area.
The hunters’ commander said the recovered weapons were later handed over to police.
He also added that their presence was being felt in the state due to their effectiveness.
On whether the group could be used during elections to combat criminality, Balogun said: ”Anything criminal, we are for that.
”We can work with anybody although if it is election time, what we need is peace.
“We want peace everywhere, so we can make peace anywhere.
“We are for peace.”
Balogun said the group had cordial relationship with the police and other security operatives as well as the state government.
NAN reports that the group whose bill passed first reading at the Senate in July was aimed at serving as the eye of the police in various communities.
They are to complement the efforts of the police in preventing and detecting crimes as well as providing relevant information on criminals among other functions.
