Lalong urges military to resume aerial surveillance

Warns judges against graft
Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong yesterday said that there is an urgent need for the military to resume aerial surveillance of the state to monitor and halt the migration of insurgents fleeing the Army onslaught in the North Eastern part of the country.

He stated this when he received the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Olonisakin at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos.

General Olonisakin, who was accompanied by the Commander of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Major-General Tagbo Ude, was received by the governor, his Deputy Prof Sonni Tyoden and other senior government officials.

Lalong said that the Nigerian military has played a strategic role in the return of relative peace in the state, adding that he would continue to do all that is possible to sustain the relationship.

Responding, the CDS said he was in the state to ensure that the troops are conducting themselves professionally, but adding that military action is insufficient, urging for collective task to ensure lasting peace in the state.Meanwhile, Governor Lalong has urged judges to shun corrupt tendencies and insist on dispensing justice without fear or favour.

He spoke in Jos at the swearing in of three newly appointed judges into the Plateau judiciary: “Your role is very crucial to protecting the dignity of the human person; a society without justice cannot stand, so you must strive to ensure that Nigerians get justice at all times.”

Lalong expressed his administration’s commitment toward a strong, vibrant and independent judiciary, and challenged judges as the pillars of that system to live up to expectation.

The governor also reminded them of the crucial role the judiciary was expected to play to ensure good governance, pointing out that it must ensure that other arms deliver on their mandate.

Lalong told the new judges that they had been chosen from a rich reservoir of competent judicial officers the state was endowed with, noting that their appointment was to fulfill conditions set by the National Judicial Council.
“It is a statement of our confidence in your capacity to strengthen the judiciary for efficient and effective service delivery,” he declared.

The judges were Silas Bakfur, Nanpon Dadi and Mrs. Nafisatu Lawal.
Justice Bakfur, who responded on behalf of others thanked the governor for finding them worthy of the appointment.
He promised that the new officers would adhere strictly to their oaths of office by dispensing justice without fear or favour.