In a proactive move to ensure a safe and peaceful holiday season, the Chairman of Etsako East Local Government Area, Rt. Hon. Sunny Ekpetika Ekpeson, has directed local vigilante groups and security outfit members across the council area to immediately commence intensive daily surveillance and comb all bushes and forests ahead of the upcoming Christmas and New Year celebrations. ​
The security mandate was issued on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, during an emergency security stakeholders meeting held at 10:00 AM in the Council Secretariat Complex in Agenebode, the headquarters of Etsako East Local Government Area. The high-level gathering brought together heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and commanders of local vigilante teams across the council’s various wards. ​
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Benjamin Atu, who briefed newsmen shortly after the closed-door meeting, Chairman Ekpeson stated that the directive aims to deny criminals, kidnappers, and bandits any hideout or operational base within the local government’s jurisdiction during the festive period.
​”The Executive Chairman, Rt. Hon. Sunny Ekpetika Ekpeson, has made it explicitly clear that security remains the top priority of this administration,” Mr. Atu said. “With the Yuletide season approaching, there is a traditional influx of citizens returning home. To guarantee their safety, our vigilante officers, working in close synergy with conventional security agencies, have been mandated to conduct 24-hour patrols and systematically comb every bush, forest reserve, and border route across Etsako East.” ​
The council boss urged residents, farm owners, and travellers to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements or individuals within their communities to the nearest security post or vigilante command headquarters. ​Representing the local vigilante operatives, Commander Aliyu Momoh assured the council authority and residents of their full readiness to execute the Chairman’s directive.
He affirmed that operational teams have already been deployed across strategic locations, including the Agenebode-Okpella axis, Weppa-Wanno communities, and Okpekpe forest corridors, to maintain law and order throughout the Yuletide and beyond.
