Delta State Police Chief Warns Vigilantes and Civil Security Outfits Against Human Rights Abuses

The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyeniyi, has issued a stern warning to vigilante groups, forest guards, and other civil security outfits in the state against engaging in unlawful detentions, torture, or using their organizations to settle personal disputes.

Speaking during a strategic security meeting on Wednesday with Divisional Police Officers, patrol commanders, and leaders of various local security groups, the police chief emphasized that all community security operations must remain strictly within the boundaries of the law. He stressed that grassroots security can only succeed when local groups work in direct coordination with official law enforcement.

“Your operations must be conducted strictly within the law and coordinated with the Police,” Oyeniyi stated. “At the local level, your activities should be streamlined under the respective Divisional Police Officers because effective community policing depends on collaboration, sustained patrols, and timely intelligence sharing.”

According to a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, SP Bright Edafe, local security leaders were instructed to instantly hand over any arrested suspects to the nearest police division. The Commissioner warned that local guards must not be used as tools for vendettas, emphasizing that abuse of power, dehumanizing treatment, or unauthorized detentions will face severe legal consequences.

To curb rural criminal activities, Oyeniyi directed these outfits to intensify intelligence gathering and increase active patrols across forests, waterways, railway corridors, and local access roads. He also charged the heads of these organizations to enforce strict internal discipline, weed out corrupt elements, and refrain from shielding any member who violates the law. The command plans to replicate these coordinating meetings across all local government areas in Delta State to sustain grassroot security cooperation.