Edo State Government has commenced the training of the sixth batch of over 1,500 newly recruited operatives of the Edo State Security Vigilante Network (ESSVN) as part of renewed efforts to strengthen the security architecture to combat crime and criminality.
This is as the government steps up ongoing reaccreditation exercise for over 6,500 vigilante operatives in the state, who have already undergone training.
Speaking to journalists at the venue for both exercises, the Police Training School in Ogida, Col Kole Omonia (rtd) said the exercise would last for 10 days, while the re-accreditation would be three days.
He noted: “We are training batch six of ESSVN made up of 1,500 men. The exercise commenced on February 8, 2024 and will run through February 18. This will be a 10-day training exercise for our men. Alongside the training, we have the re-accreditation exercise, which commenced on February 9 for Edo South. It is meant to further establish the authenticity of the operatives trained so far from batches one to five”.
Batch six is ongoing, covering the three senatorial districts in Edo.
“We are training 1,500 men from the 18 local councils comprising the 192 wards. This is a continuous exercise. When we finish the sixth batch, we will continue with the seventh.”
