Security Unrest in Delta: Online Publishers Urges Oborevwori to Sign Community Security Corps Law

By Robo Bare
Concerned stakeholders cum Media Entrepreneurs in Delta State under the aegis of Delta Online Publishers Forum, DOPF have called on Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to urgently assent to and implement the Delta State Community Security Corps Agency Law, 2025, amid rising cases of farmer–herder clashes, kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes across the state.

In an appeal addressed to the Governor, made available to newsmen, the group warned that the worsening security situation poses a serious threat to livelihoods, food security, and public confidence in governance, especially in rural communities that have recorded repeated attacks.

The Community Security Corps Agency Law was passed by the Delta State House of Assembly on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, after third reading. The legislation, sponsored by Hon. (Dr.) Isaac Anwuzia, Chairman of the House Committee on Peace and Security, repeals the 2020 version and introduces a more comprehensive framework for community-based security operations.

According to the Media Entrepreneurs, the law was designed to strengthen the state’s security architecture by establishing a formal community security agency that would compliment conventional security agencies, improve grassroots intelligence gathering, and ensure quicker response to local threats similar to the Amotekun model operational in South-Western Nigeria.

While commending Governor Oborevwori for assenting to the Delta State Anti-Terrorism and Anti-Cultism (Amendment) Law, 2025, and for the establishment of the Delta State Security Trust Fund, the group expressed concern that the Community Security Corps law has remained unsigned months after its passage.

They argued that the delay raises concerns, particularly when compared to the Delta State Anti-Open Grazing Law, which, despite being enacted in a previous administration, has largely remained unenforced, even as farmers continue to suffer violent attacks on their farmlands.

The group further warned that the current national and regional security climate makes the law more urgent, citing fears that criminal and terrorist elements displaced from other parts of the country could migrate to relatively less-secured regions, including parts of the Niger Delta.

They stressed that signing the law should be accompanied by immediate implementation measures, including clear recruitment guidelines, professional training standards, sustainable funding, effective oversight mechanisms, and proper coordination with existing security agencies.

In a letter addressed to the Governor, DOPF through its Chairman, Emmanuel Enebeli, FCIISM, MNIPR and Secretary, Shedrack Onitsha, FCIISM, MNIPR, opined assenting to the law would demonstrate the governor’s commitment to proactive, people-centred governance and the protection of lives, investments, and agricultural activities across Delta State.

Appealed to Governor Oborevwori to make the signing and activation of the Community Security Corps Agency Law a priority in the new year, describing it as a decisive reassurance to Deltans that their safety remains a top priority of the administration.