By Israel Joel
Following recent cases of ritual killings suspected to be carried out by “Yahoo Boys” as well as kidnappings and other criminal activities, Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong has vowed to make the state uninhabitable for criminals.
Speaking at the Inter Denomination Church service to mark the 2022 armed forces Remembrance Day held at St Finbarrs Catholic church in Jos, Lalong appealed to parents and guardians to pay attention to their wards and counsel them to shun criminal activities as the security agencies have been mandated to go very tough on anyone who disrupts public peace and security.
“Government is taking serious measures to bring these vices to an end and anyone who is caught will not be spared. Already, we have laws that prescribe very stiff penalties for such crimes. Those who are found to be shielding or collaborating with criminals will be dealt with also. A word is enough for the wise.”
Speaking on the crisis in the state, Lalong said his administration has embraced community policing to ensure early warnings, intelligence gathering and crime prevention using a button-top approach.
In his words “Here on the Plateau, we have witnessed over two decades of security challenges that truncated sustainable peace and development. That is why our Rescue Administration has made peace and security a cardinal priority by investing time and resources in peacebuilding and crime prevention. We have established institutions such as the Peace Building Agency, Inter-Religious Council, and the Traditional Institutions to rebuild a society that is based on peace, tolerance, dialogue and understanding.
He stressed that his peace-building efforts in the past six years have yielded positive results with most of the people of Plateau the state supporting efforts to engender peace and rebuild confidence in the State.
“We have sensitized our citizens to remember that our strength as a people lies in our diversity. What we should continue to do is to fight against crises merchants, criminals, and enemies of peace. We must never allow them to exploit religion, ethnicity, politics, and other issues to divide us.”
Lalong further added that his administration recently passed a law against kidnapping, violent crimes, and land grabbing, as well as revamped Operation Rainbow. Our administration over the years has also provided logistics support to the Armed forces to operate effectively. Some months ago, we procured and distributed many patrol vans and hundreds of security motorbikes to all security agencies in the State. We will continue to do so to ensure that our people live in peace.
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While these efforts are going on, we have to also pay attention to the welfare of serving and retired officers and men of the armed forces. They need to be taken care of in terms of welfare package and other allowances. While the Federal Government is doing its best, we at the State level will continue to support them with packages that motivate them to give their best.
The Governor further said “As for those who have lost their lives or suffered injuries while working to protect us, we have a duty as a society to ensure that their sacrifices do not go in vain.
He appreciated the Church in Plateau State for doing their best to not only support the security agencies through prayer and other avenues but also collaborate and cooperate with the Government in finding lasting solutions to insecurity in the State.
