Residents and youths of Enugu State on Friday took to the streets of Enugu, the state capital, in a show of support for government’s efforts to tackle insecurity, declaring their zero tolerance for terrorism, criminality, cultism and violent extremism.

The youths, comprising undergraduates and members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), marched through major streets before converging at the Government House, Enugu, where they were received by Governor Peter Mbah.

The group pledged to mobilise young people across the state to join the campaign against criminal activities and violent extremism.

Addressing the youths, Governor Mbah said security was one of the major risk factors identified by his administration while developing its roadmap for the state, prompting the government to tackle insecurity from the outset.

Mbah commended the youths for supporting the anti-crime efforts of the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government and the Enugu State Government.

He described their decision to take the campaign against crime and terrorism to the streets as a significant development, stressing that young people must take the lead in protecting the future of the state.

“For you to march through the streets and end here preaching the message against crime and terrorism is profound. Ordinarily, we should be the ones preaching to you against such vices.

“But by this act, you are telling us that you are not going to be on the fringes or stand by and watch. Rather, you are going to be at the forefront of the campaign against cultism, crime and terrorism,” the governor said.

The governor said increased youth participation in the fight against criminality would help reduce crime and free up government resources for job creation and poverty reduction.

He maintained that Enugu had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards criminality, noting that a peaceful and secure environment would attract investors and stimulate economic growth.

Mbah urged the youths to extend the campaign to communities across the state, saying their involvement would send a strong message that criminality was no longer acceptable among young people.

He also assured the youths that the government would complement their efforts through non-kinetic measures, including job creation, investment in education and digital skills development.

Earlier, the leader of the march and Deputy Rector of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Dr Emeka Ejim, described the initiative as a broad-based youth movement involving students and corps members united against crime, cultism and terrorism.

Ejim pledged the group’s continued support for the state government’s security initiatives, noting that Enugu had adopted both kinetic and non-kinetic approaches, including skills acquisition and job creation, in addressing insecurity.

“We pledge never to join bad groups within and outside Nigeria. We are joining you against terrorism,” he said.

The Enugu State leader of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Okeke Kelvin, said the association would mobilise at least two million youths to support the campaign against violence and terrorism.

Kelvin also commended the state government for its investment in security infrastructure, including the Command and Control Centre, Centre for DNA Forensics and Criminal Investigation, and the Distress Response Squad (DRS).

He said the measures were already yielding positive results in the state.

Meanwhile, NYSC corps members, Olaranju Oreose and Emmanuela Momoh, expressed appreciation to Governor Mbah for what they described as the peaceful and secure environment they had experienced in Enugu.

Oreose, a corps member from the South-West, said he initially had concerns about being posted to the South-East but had since changed his perception after spending several months in Enugu.

He said the experience had shown him that young people across ethnic and religious lines could unite against terrorism and criminality.

The youths ended the march with a renewed pledge to support efforts by the Federal and Enugu State governments to sustain peace, security and development across the state.