Following a security report, the Kogi State government has banned all forms of traditional procession in Koton-Karfe and neighbouring communities.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Lokoja.He pointed out that the proactive ban is to avoid breakdown of law and order in the affected communities.
The commissioner said: “His Excellency Alh. Ahmed Usman Ododo reiterates his administration’s commitment to peaceful co-existence among all Koton-Karfe people and will always leave his doors open to complaints and grievances rather than resort to violence.
“We urge all concerned to strictly abide by the ban, as violators will be treated as enemies of peace and the state. The decision of the state government is aimed at protecting the rights of the Koton-Karfe people, and indeed all Kogites, to peace and security.”
The statement urged security agents to enforce the ban in accordance with the laws of the land. He charged the people of Koton-Karfe to be committed to peace and harmony, adding that the government is prepared to protect them from violence.
MEANWHILE, Governor Ododo has felicitated with his predecessor and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on the occasion of his 49th birthday anniversary.
In his congratulatory message, he described the immediate past governor of the state as a “quintessential leader of men and women and a pathfinder, who lifted children of the less privileged to prominence, and led the state to a prosperous pedestal in the eight years of his administration in the state.”
