Nigeria, Dec. 24 -- Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano State has officially launched the Neighbourhood Watch Corps (NWC), a state-controlled security outfit designed to tackle the escalating surge in banditry and gang-related violence.

Speaking on Tuesday at the Sani Abacha Stadium, Governor Yusuf announced the enrollment of an initial 2,000 personnel into the state's security structure.

The first batch consists of 1,870 men and 130 women. The governor said all the personnel have undergone specialised training in security tactics and intelligence gathering.

To ensure operational efficiency, the governor commissioned a fleet of 88 Hilux patrol vehicles and 440 motorcycles for the corps to be deployed across all 44 Local Government Areas (LGAs)...