Lalong relaxes curfew as Jigawa governor urges restraint over killings

Governor Simon Lalong has reviewed downward the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jos North of Plateau State. Resultantly, the embargo is running from 6:00pm to 6:00am effective yesterday.

Similar reprieve was extended to Bassa and Jos South council areas till further notice. The decision was an outcome of the State Security Council meeting held on Wednesday, where the governor received briefings from heads of security agencies and reviewed the situation.

In relaxing the embargo, Lalong warned troublemakers against threatening life and property or be ready for a showdown with security forces.

He deplored the desperation of criminals in wreaking mayhem at every point in the state. Amid the new development, security agencies would mount permanent checkpoints in flashpoints, deploy more personnel and monitor citizens round the clock in Jos North.

The governor reiterated the prohibition on processions, urging law-abiding citizens to keep supporting government in its bid to restore normalcy in parts of the state.

Lalong begged parents and community leaders to prevail on their wards to be peaceful and obedient to extant laws.

THIS is even as Governor Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State pleaded with northern youths to remain calm and allow security forces carry out their duties.

The appeal was contained in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on New Media, Auwalu Sankara. The press release quoted the governor as making the call when he paid a condolence visit to his Plateau counterpart, Lalong, in Jos.

It was reported that travellers from Bauchi State were murdered on their way home to the South West. According to the governor, the nation’s security forces have begun making series of arrests of the perpetrators. He, however, urged the people of the state to cooperate with security agents in their efforts to bring the attackers to book.