The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, urged the guards not to be afraid of bandits.
“Don’t be afraid of the enemies because the enemies are afraid of you,” he stated.
He commended the northern governors for their resolve to address the challenges in the region.
Bauchi State governor, Bala Muhammed urged the federal government to provide the states with the support needed to tackle their security challenges.
He said the federal government must not play politics with security.
Governors Caleb Mutfwang and Hyacinth Ali of Plateau and Benue states respectively stressed the need for the North to unite and defeat “retrogressive elements” in the region.
A former National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau (rtd), said the event signified the continued efforts to eliminate the insecurity in the region.
He said for all security outfits to achieve success, there must be synergy and implicit trust among them.
He urged the conventional security agencies to create desks for representatives from the Community Guards Corps in their structures for quick and effective sharing of intelligence.
“Our country faces daunting security challenges today. These range from terrorism in the northeast to banditry in the northwest, farmer-herder conflicts in the north-central and southwest, secessionist tendencies in the south-east, large scale crude oil theft in the south-south and robbery and kidnapping for ransom in every part of the country.
“I’ll therefore commend our governors for their efforts to address these security challenges. Accordingly, today’s event is both important and imperative,” he said.
Gusau called for sufficient funding to sustain the initiative.
Sokoto State governor, Ahmed Aliyu, said the initiative was part of his promise to tackle the insecurity in parts of the state.
Former governors of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa and Senator Aliyu Wamakko commended the initiative, expressing belief that it would curtail security challenges in the state.
The training consultant, General Junaidu Bindawa, said the 2,596 guards, who graduated, were trained in many aspects of security.
He advised the governors to deploy technologies in tackling the insecurity in their respective states.
