The governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to restore military checkpoints in the state to check the movement of suspected terrorists.
The governor made the call today after a multiple bomb blasts in Jos on Sundaynight in which 44 people died and 67 got injured according to figures by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Shortly after he visited the scenes of the blasts and the injured victims at Plateau Specialist Hospital, Lalong said: “today I made an appeal to Mr. President to please allow us to have checkpoints.
“This is because without the security checkpoints, people can flow from all angles and attack innocent people.”
President Buhari had directed the removal of all military checkpoints nationwide, saying internal security should be handled by the police.
The government later relaxed the order, to allow checkpoints in high risk areas like the northeast, which is currently facing a brutal insurgency by the Boko Haram sect.
The governor warned residents to desist forthwith from riding their motorcycles or face the full weight of the law, saying that commercial motorcycle operations remained banned.
He said a taskforce had been constituted to ensure that cyclists strictly adhere to the ban which was initiated by his predecessor and passed into law by the 7th Plateau Assembly.
“We have a taskforce in place to keep motorcyclists off the streets and as a government we are going to push that to any level.
“Any motorcyclist who refuses to respect the law will see what will happen to him in the next few days.
“This is because it is part of lawlessness we are experiencing today,’’ he said.
The governor commended security agencies and the various aid groups for their quick intervention in saving the lives of the injured victims.
He also commended the Nigeria Medical Association for suspending its strike to save lives and pointed out that the deaths would have been more without them.
The governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to restore military checkpoints in the state to check the movement of suspected terrorists.
The governor made the call on Monday following multiple bomb blasts in Jos on Sunday night in which 44 people died and 67 got injured according to figures by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.
Shortly after he visited the scenes of the blasts and the injured victims at Plateau Specialist Hospital, Mr. Lalong said, “today I made an appeal to Mr. President to please allow us to have checkpoints”.
“This is because without the security checkpoints, people can flow from all angles and attack innocent people,’’ he said.
President Buhari had directed the removal of all military checkpoints nationwide, saying internal security should be handled by the police.
The government later relaxed the order, to allow checkpoints in high risk areas like the northeast, which is currently facing a brutal insurgency by the Boko Haram sect.
The governor warned residents to desist forthwith from riding their motorcycles or face the full weight of the law, saying that commercial motorcycle operations remained banned.
He said a taskforce had been constituted to ensure that cyclists strictly adhere to the ban which was initiated by his predecessor and passed into law by the 7th Plateau Assembly.
“We have a taskforce in place to keep motorcyclists off the streets and as a government we are going to push that to any level.
“Any motorcyclist who refuses to respect the law will see what will happen to him in the next few days.
“This is because it is part of lawlessness we are experiencing today,’’ he said.
The governor commended security agencies and the various aid groups for their quick intervention in saving the lives of the injured victims.
He also commended the Nigeria Medical Association for suspending its strike to save lives and pointed out that the deaths would have been more without them.
Mr. Lalong said the state government had already released money to assist in the treatment of the injured and prayed for the repose of the souls of the death.
He urged Plateau citizens to remain calm and assured them that his administration, in conjunction with security agencies, would do all within its powers to avoid a repeat of the dastardly act.
Lalong said the state government had already released money to assist in the treatment of the injured and prayed for the repose of the souls of the death.
He urged Plateau citizens to remain calm and assured them that his administration, in conjunction with security agencies, would do all within its powers to avoid a repeat of the dastardly act. [myad]

No fewer than 12 people and 20 cows died even as 16 others sustained varying degrees of injuries when a luxury bus, journeying from Lagos to the North, crashed with a truck in its attempt to meander its way from the road block mounted by armed robbers at Irekpeni village, along the Lokoja-Abuja Highway.
A witness who identified himself simply as Tunji told journalists  in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, that the luxury bus was with number plate KRD 799 LC, while the truck, loaded with cows has its number plate as KTN 711 YZ.
The eye witness said that the Luxury bus driver’s attempt to avoid the road block, led to the bus to have a head-on collision with the truck, leading to the immediate death of 12 passengers while 16 other victims were injured. He said over 20 cows also died in the accidents.
According to him, the accident later caused a gridlock on the highway before officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps made some rescue operation and cleared the obstruction.
The FRSC Kogi State Sector Commander, Charles Abochi, confirmed the accident and said that a total of 73 passengers were involved in the accident.[myad]