STF urges vigilance, alertness over security scare

The military outfit in Plateau State, Operation Safe Haven Jos (OPSH), hitherto known as the Special Task Force (STF), said it had uncovered a plot by some unnamed persons to disrupt the peace in the state under the guise of religion.

Spokesman of the OPSH, Captain Ihedichi Iweha, in a statement, therefore, urged members of the public to maintain high vigilance, especially around crowded places.

Iweha further advised operators and managers of parks to put in place additional security measures especially with the increased travels, which characterise the “EMBER” months.

In a related development, the frequent disputes between non–indigenes and settlers and struggles over farmlands have been identified as the major cause of conflicts in some parts of the state. This is part of the report of the State House of Assembly Special Committee on Peace and Security headed by the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi.

The mandate of the special committee, which was constituted on June 24, 2015, was to carry out an investigation into the attacks and counter-attacks in communities within Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Mangu, Jos East, Langtang South, Wase, Langtang North and Bokkos local government councils of the state.

Gagdi, while presenting the report on the floor of the House, said the committee obtained first-hand information from respondents and parties to the crises through verbal submissions and observations made during visits and inter – face with the parties.

He also revealed that the committee relied on secondary data obtained from previous reports and documentations of the activities of the Jos Peace Dialogue Forum, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Department of State Services and the Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Programme Reports.

Meanwhile, the state government and the House of Assembly are on a collision course over the tenure of the newly constituted management committee chairmen for the 17 local government councils.

While the House at the weekend, passed a resolution for a three-month tenure for management committees constituted in the 17 councils in the state, the government came out with a different position, saying that the extant law provides six months for the management committees in the first instance, liable for renewal after expiration for three months and thereafter.