I like being in Africa and have worked in South, West and East Africa, it’s a raw continent with immense energy and potential. Abuja, the capital of Nigeria is a vibrant city and my time there was spent in various hotels, attending meetings, and also providing security on New Year’s Eve 2011/12 for two mega Churches. For the New Year’s task, the hotel myself, another white American and a well-trained bomb detection dog happened to be staying in was a Muslim Hotel that was right next to the National Mosque in Abuja. Did we feel or experience any negativity towards us from local Muslims or Christians for that matter, definitely not, the opposite… If we had happened to be blown up it would have been down to a small radical minority and JJ the bomb dog being distracted from his job, most likely by a soccer ball or something he wanted to eat…

My first trip to Nigeria was spent moving between Abuja and Jos. The city of Jos they say is the dividing line between the North and South of Nigeria, it has a far different geography than the South, very arid with amazing rock formations. We spent Xmas-day 2011 in Jos and the day started waiting for a terrorist attack to happen, which it did mid-morning. We visited the location of the attack, a Church where a policeman on security duty was killed and an explosive device had been thrown into the Church grounds. We then had a meeting with the police chief and when there was nothing else to do, we visited the zoo, where seeing the confined, underfed and tormented animals said more about humanity than can ever be written. I have a lot of stories about that first trip, and met a lot of very good people, but sadly no high-quality photos.

The environments in Abuja and Jos were a lot different to Imo State, to start with the South of Nigeria is very green with lush vegetation. My task in Imo State was to train local vigilante groups as they were being organized into a more effective and centrally organized security network.

One of the main issues with security in Nigeria is down to the country’s size and ethnic makeup. Nigeria is a very culturally diverse country and people have very strong connections to their ethnic roots. So, to simply explain the problem, why should those serving in the police and military deployed away from their home areas care about the communities in the areas they are working in… Combine this with preexisting cultural friction, low pay and poor working conditions and you can begin to understand the tip of the problem with law enforcement in Nigeria.

This became obvious to me when working with the vigilantes, when a few times it was clear that they were only interested in working within their own districts unless of course there was good money being paid for their services. And when seeing things from their perspectives I understood their views completely. Why should they spend their time, use their own vehicles, gasoline, weapons, and risk being injured or killed for nothing? Would the members of other community’s risk injury and death for them or even pay for their food, I doubt it.

In a society with virtually no government social support and where government workers can go months without being paid, people have to put themselves, their families, homes, and communities first. Why care about a rich country that does not care for them? If a vigilante was injured, then who would pay his medical bills and feed him and his family if he could not work? If a man was killed, then who would look after his family?

In reality there are no heroes, they are quickly forgotten, and usually those who sacrifice themselves for others end up destroying their own lives and leave behind families to face financial hardship, poverty, and exploitation.

The vigilante’s job is to protect their communities, and they fill in the gaps where the police and military do not or will not operate. Many vigilante groups provide security services for local businesses and the like and there is often friction between them, the police and the military. The police and the military are part of the Federal government, and the vigilantes have no official powers apart from working in the interests of their communities.

I am not going to detail the content of the training courses, I will just say they were physically demanding, and I liked to take the students out of their comfort zones. A lot of time was spent in the bush and the rivers during the day and night. I am sure many got to understand that the darkness and the rain were their friends and not things to fear or avoid. I am also not going to get into the politics of the job which can only be explained as farcical which is why I spent most of my time in the bush with my vigilantes and hunters.

Here is an article I wrote about my time in Nigeria in 2012 click on it to read it: Organized Crime: Voodoo Cults / Confraternities in Nigeria.

Orlando W.

Photo Books on Amazon!
Vigilantes of Imo State – Nigerian Vigilante Life in Pictures
Paper Back @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M544DQT
Hard Cover @ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M57XFC1