Katsina State government has graduated the first batch of its 1,456 Community Watch Corps (CWC) to complement security operatives in the fight against banditry in some parts of the state.
The government also commissioned 40 buses to convey teachers and students to schools across the state.
The young personnel who have undergone two months of rigorous training on military drills, warfare, arms handling and civilian relations will be sent to various communities to support the banditry fight and end the menace.
Addressing the graduates, Governor Dikko Umar Radda, said the setting up of CWC was in line with his campaign promise to prioritise security and affirmed that he had invested a lot of funds in the fight against insecurity, adding that this should not be seen as a surprise to anyone because 24 out of 34 local government areas are faced with security challenges.
Stressing that his vision was to secure the state by all means, he described the setting up of CWC as a milestone not only for graduating officers, but for the entire residents of the state, and by extension Nigeria.
Earlier, the commissioner for internal security and home affairs, Nasiru Muazu Danmusa, said the mitigation of insecurity required multidimensional approaches, hence the introduction of the CWC to serve as a game changer in the security architecture of the state by complementing the effort of security operatives.
The event attracted prominent public officials and politicians within and across the state, such as former president Muhammadu Buhari, Northwest governors of Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, Zamfara, and Kebbi states, including that of Yobe State, former governors, and traditional rulers among other dignitaries.