THE Borno State Government said on Monday it had produced a blue print for full engagement of an estimated 20,000 members of a local vigilance group called the Civilian JTF, after the Boko Haram insurgency.
The state Commissioner for Justice, Alhaji Kakashehu Lawan, stated this while speaking with journalists in Maiduguri.
Lawan was reacting to the fears expressed by residents of the state that the unemployed members of the vigilance group may become another security threat after the Boko Haram insurgency.
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“His Excellency, Governor Kashim Shettima has developed a blue print for the post Boko Haram insurgency era in the state.
Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima“One of the agenda on the blue print is youth integration, which encapsulates all youths in the state including members of the civilian JTF,” he said.
Lawan said the blue print made provision for the creation of a youth empowerment agency to cater for the members of the civilian JTF.
“Already, a law has been passed by the Borno House of Assembly known as Youth Vigilante Empowerment Agency Law 2015, to cater for job creation particularly targeting members of the group.
“The agency is expected to engage members of the group by providing different kinds of jobs for them,” he said.
Lawan added that the state government had also made contact with the Nigerian Army authorities to enlist those qualified into the service.
“What we have done as a government is to liaise with the Nigerian Army high command to have a large chunk of them recruited into the army,” he said.
Lawan said government also planned to recruit some of them as fire fighters in the state.
“We are also working on plans to recruit between 500 and 1, 000 of them as fire fighters in the state department of fire service.
“We also have plans to engage about 500 of them as Vehicle Inspection Officers,” he said.
Lawan said those who possessed higher educational qualification would be absorbed into the state civil service.
“Those who are graduates and National Certificate in Education holders will be absorbed into the State Civil Service,” he said.
