By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – The Special Adviser on Security and Homeland Safety to the Plateau State Governor, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang, has said the curfew imposed last Sunday as a result of hoodlums who hijacked the peaceful #EndBadGovernance, in the State, will soon be over.
The Security Aide, Brig-Gen. Gakji Shipi (rtd), said the Governor does not intend to impose the curfew in the first instance because citizens have the right to protest as enshrined in the country’s constitution.
He said the step was taken only to protect lives and properties which is the responsibility of the government.
Gen. Shipi who also doubles as the Coordinator, Operation Rainbow, a State owned Security outfit, added that to ensure that the curfew does not have adverse effects on the businesses of peaceful citizens and economic growth of the State, the Governor has on a daily basis reviewed the curfew by adding some more hours for free movement.
According to him: “When the national protest began, we had a three to four-day peaceful section in the State, to an extent that Plateau was used as a reference point to other States. But unfortunately, the protest was infiltrated by miscreants who had other plans.
“As a responsible government that took oath to protect the lives of its people, we stepped in to prevent the situation from escalating, by imposing the curfew because it is better to be proactive than to wait for something to happen.
“The Governor does not intend that the curfew will be prolonged or be permanent because as we can all see, there is no day that passes that the government does not add some hours of freedom to citizens so they can engage in their legitimate businesses.
“The main interest of the Governor is for life to return to normal. His target is to relax the curfew permanently”, Shipi said.
He added that as soon as the security situation improves to guarantee the safety of lives and properties, government will permanently lift the curfew.
Recall that the protest against bad governance turned deadly in Plateau State last Sunday when one person was killed in the Bauchi Road area of Jos North Local Government.
The protest, which began on August 1, calling an end to bad governance and hunger, took a different dimension when thousands of youths and children took to the streets, with some attacking businesses and markets.
Our correspondent reports that the Governor’s Aide spoke on Friday in Jos.
