Plateau Governor, Lalong advocate community policing to stem banditry

By Raymond Gukas, Jos 

Plateau State Governor,  Simon Lalong has hinted that the attacks in parts of the state which claimed about 30 lives “appear to be deliberately orchestrated to test the resolve our our administration.”

He stated this at a stakeholders “peace and security community dialogue meeting with the Theme Domestication  of  community policing in Plateau state , Exploring the Indigenous options.”

According to him, the attacks in Kulben village,  Mangu LGA and that of Kwatas in Bokkos LGA were simply to undermining the security and safety of the peaceful people who are going about earning their livelihoods.

“That is why I told the security agencies that the killers must be fished out at all costs because Government will no longer take excuses of “unknown gunmen” who kill and maim at will.”, he declared.

The  governor told the gathering that he was happy that his earlier directive to arrests community leaders and Ardos was being acted upon, adding that “sooner than later, those killers will be unmasked and brought before the law to answer for their crimes.”

However, the reason for the security dialogue was to seek and explore ways towards undertaking a holistic overview of the prevailing security challenges in the State, with specific reference to a community policing model that can better respond to public safety and security.

Already,  he reiterated the governors of the north central region have adopted Community Policing as a better tool to dealing with the security situation in the geo-political zone., based on an earlier meeting the state government held with the Inspector general of police on security issues.

While in charging participants to engage in frank, open and solution-driven interaction that will enable the state, key into the Community Policing Model in dealing with  security situation more effectively, he stressed that he was “happily, we already have structures on ground which are in tandem with the Community Policing model such as the Operation Rainbow.”