By Samuel Ogude
Delta Online Publishers Forum (DOPF) has urged the Delta State Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori to sign into law the Delta State Community Security Corps Agency Law- the legislation which was passed by Delta State House of Assembly on Tuesday, July 22, 2025 after due legislative process and third reading.
In a statement signed by the Chairman of the Forum, Mr Emmanuel Enebeli and the Secretary, Mr Shedrack Onitsha and made available to newsmen, the body said, this becomes necessary considering the level of insecurity in the state especially the persistent attacks on farmers by armed herdsmen, rampant cases of kidnapping where ransoms are paid by the victims’ relatives and other violent crimes which have continued to threaten livelihoods, food security, and public confidence in governance.
“We write to you with a deep sense of responsibility and patriotic concern over the growing security concern in Delta State, particularly the persistent attacks on farmers by armed herdsmen, cases of kidnapping for ransom, and other violent crimes that now threaten livelihoods, food security, and public confidence in governance“, part of the statement reads.
According to the body, the law, sponsored by Hon. (Dr.) Isaac Anwuzia, Chairman of the House Committee on Peace and Security which repealed the 2020 version made, to give room for more robust, structured and legally grounded framework for community- based policing and grassroots security across the state has remained unsigned several months after its passage.
Part of the statement reads:” The intention of the House was clear: to strengthen Delta State’s security architecture by establishing a formal Community Security Corps Agency that can complement conventional security agencies, like the Amotekun in the South-West, improve intelligence gathering, and respond swiftly to local security threats that federal forces alone are overstretched to handle.”
According to the Forum, the delay raises questions, especially when viewed against the fate of the Delta State Anti-Open Grazing Law, which, despite being enacted in the last dispensation, has largely remained dormant, even as Deltans continue to suffer violent attacks on their farms by marauding herdsmen as laws made without enforcement structures, become symbolic documents, not instruments of protection.
The body however commended Governor Oborevwori for assenting to the Delta State Anti-Terrorism and Anti-cultism (Amendment) Law, 2025 and the launching of Delta State Security Trust Funds and urged the Governor to do the same with Delta State Community Security Corps Agency Law as it provides the operational backbone for effective grassroots security enforcement.
According to the Forum, the current security climate makes the signing of the law more urgent as reports of terrorist elements being displaced from the North-East due to military operations saying, there is growing fear of criminals networks to seek refuge in a relatively softer region including parts of Niger Delta.
Part of the statement reads:” Signing the Delta State Community Security Corps Agency Law into force must therefore go hand in hand with the immediate establishment of clear structures for its implementation, including recruitment guidelines, training standards, funding mechanisms, oversight frameworks, and coordination protocols with existing security agencies.
“We strongly believe that assenting to this law and activating its provisions will send a powerful message that your administration is proactive, people-centered, and determined to protect lives, investments, farmlands, and communities, rather than reacting after irreparable damage has been done.
“As the New Year unfolds, we respectfully appeal to Your Excellency to present the signing and implementation of the Delta State Community Corps Agency Law, 2025, as a decisive gift to Deltans; a reassurance that their safety matters and that laws enacted in their name will not be allowed to gather dust on government shelves.” the statement concluded.