Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has thrown his weight behind the police ban on motorcycle movement between 7 pm and 6 am as part of measures to checkmate youth thuggery in the state.

The Guardian recalls that the state police command restricted motorcycle movement at night as a result of the escalation of thuggery, phone snatching and attacks on innocent residents of the state by notorious “Yan kalare” thugs.

In his response to complaints on the ban on nighttime motorcycle movement during the launch of the 2025 wet season farming, Governor Inuwa said, despite not being consulted before the decision was made, he would not ask the police to lift the ban “because they are doing their duties”.

While emphasising the need for security measures to curb thuggery and violence in the state, Inuwa said over 1,000 motorcycles have been confiscated since the restriction took effect, with more than 90 per cent of them found to be unregistered or lacking license plates.

This, he said, makes it easy for criminals to commit crimes and escape without being traced.

The governor expressed concern over the increasing cases of adolescent boys carrying weapons like machetes to attack innocent residents, citing recent incidents where a prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Albani Kuri, and an entrepreneur, Amadi Kasiran, were killed by thugs in the state in attempts to snatch their phones.

He directed security agents to deal decisively with thugs without fear or favour, asking that parents who bail out their children arrested for thuggery should also face consequences.

“If a parent comes to bail out a thug arrested by security agents, that parent should be arrested as well,” he stated.