Jethro Ibileke/Benin

Edo State House of Assembly has passed a Bill prohibiting activities of Community Development Associations (CDAs) in the state.
This is even as the Assistant Inspector-General‎ of Police in charge of Zone 5, Benin, Alhaji Abubakar Adamu Mohammed, has raised the alarm over alleged plot by youths in the State to cause chaos over the ban on activities of the CDAs.
With the passage of the Bill, all forceful and illegal occupation of landed property by the CDAs are henceforth prohibited in the state.
The Majority Leader of the House and member representing Owan East constituency (APC), Mr. Folly Ogedegbe, had during plenary on Monday, moved a motion that the House desolve into the committee of the whole to consider the Bill​.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie, member representing Uhunmwode constituency, seconded the motion.
Considering the Bill at the committee of the whole, the Speaker, Mr. Justin Okonoboh, noted that the Bill seeks to prohibit forceful and illegal occupation of landed property by Community Development Associations in the state.
“The Bill prescribed that no person or group of persons while acting for themselves or acting as agents or members of a Community Development Associations
”No youth organisations or other body by whatever name called shall demand or collect any fee or levy in whatever guise in respect of construction or development activities in any property in Edo .
”The bill also prescribed that a task force shall be established in the State which shall be responsible for the provisions of the law,” he said.
According to the Speaker, any person who contravenes the provisions of the law commits an offense and shall be liable for 10 years imprisonment or a fine of N2 million.
After the consideration of the Bill, the Speaker directed that clean copies of the Bill be sent the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki for his accent.
AIG Adamu Mohammed who spoke during an interactive session with community and youth leaders at the Zone 5 headquarters in Benin, disclosed that police intelligence report indicated that the recent pronouncement by the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuareban II and policies of the state government on the activities of CDAs and revenue collectors in the state have not go down well with some youths.
According to him, the youths have vowed to make the state ungovernable if those policies were not reversed, stressing that the scrapping of CDAs and private revenue collectors have led to unprecedented rise in the cases of kidnapping, cultism and armed robbery amongst others in the state.
‎He however assured that his men were ready to partner various community leaders to reduce the spate of crimes and criminality in the state.
According to him, the interactive meeting opened a new chapter of cooperation and mutual collaboration between the Zone and community partnership in terms of information sharing that may lead to intelligence and correct synergy to tackle the security challenges in the neighborhood and in the state.
Mohammed disclosed that the command would revive the various vigilante groups and the Police Community Relations Committee, PCRC, in order to checkmate crimes in the various communities.
On his part, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Haliru Gwandu, appealed to the various community leaders to abide by the laws of the land and shun the indiscriminate sales of land, noting that if their ancestors had sold all the land there would not have been land left for the present development of the state.
In his comment, the Chairman of Egba Community, Pastor Blessing Ighiwi, thanked the AIG for embarking on the mission of making the state a safe haven for businesses and for the people of the state.
He said the Edo State House of Assembly should have been the initiator of the move of bringing peace to the land but has failed in its duty by leaving it to the police to do.
He said the House of Assembly should have also thought about the gains of the CDAs to the various communities before abolishing its existence from the communities.
Comrade Obaweki Sylvester who spoke on behalf of Evbo-Ewuare Community, called on the AIG to deploy more officers and men to the communities and assist the vigilantes with logistics to curtail the level of crimes in the various communities.