I wish to use this medium to commend the Governor of Plateau State, Barrister Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang, for the impactful changes he has brought to bear on the state since his assumption of office.

It is very cheerful that the people of the state have no cause to regret going out and standing under the heat of the sun to vote for him as our leader.

It is interesting to know that since Mutfwang assumed office, the streets of the metropolis have changed for the better. Current roads renovations are being done without ethnic or religious considerations of the communities but for the benefit of all.

Beyond this, the governor recently bought many Coaster luxury buses to help reduce the transportation difficulties experienced by citizens of the state.

To ensure good governance, the governor has warned government workers and those in the private sector to justify the remunerations they receive with sincerity of purpose. Most importantly, Mutfwang’s decision to reabsorb workers earlier employed by the immediate past administration has depicted his humility and intention to keep the state on the path of progress without any administrative frictions.

If there is any area in which the governor has exhibited his sterling leadership qualities, it is in the way and manner he handled the crisis in Mangu Local Government Area of the state.

However, I have come to understand that despite these efforts, there are several communities facing the same problem of insecurity in the state. In the past few days, the Agingi community in Bassa Local Government Area of the state has been held hostage by the nefarious acts of criminality carried out by bandits.

In most of these cases, these criminals kidnap innocent citizens only for them to collect huge ransoms at the end of the day. This situation has put many people of the area in serious and unimaginable pain and frustration. These criminals come with sophisticated weapons, such as AK 47 rifles, to terrorize their victims and demand for their hard earned monies.

To avoid the situation from deteriorating into what is currently happening in some parts of the North Eastern region of the country (where bandits extort huge amounts of monies before freeing their victims), the state government must immediately come to the aid of these vulnerable areas, among which is Agingi.

We therefore appeal to Governor Mutfwang and other relevant security organizations to come to intervene in such areas and, if possible, establish a police station and embark on patrol of all the affected areas within the community.

I pray for peace on the Plateau State and may God grant our dear Governor Mutfwang more wisdom to leave behind a lasting legacy at the end of his tenure.

Danjuma Wakili,

Agingi, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State

Insecurity: The need for state police

Nigerian citizens have continued to express concern about the resurgence of insecurity in the country and the need for the establishment of state police to restore peace and stability in areas affected by kidnapping and banditry.

The kidnapping of 287 students on March 7, 2024, in Kuriga, a dusty town in the northwestern state of Kaduna, was the first mass abduction in Africa’s most populous nation since 2021 when more than 150 students were seized from a high school in Kaduna.

The April 14, 2014, kidnapping, during which members of the Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, abducted 276 female students in a nighttime attack at Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, prompting domestic and international outrage.

Since then, kidnapping and various forms of attacks have continued across the country, leaving the vast majority of citizens at the mercy of the abductors with little or no protection from the government whose primary responsibility is to protect the lives and property of its citizens.

The bandits who abducted the 287 school children from Kuriga, Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, had demanded a N1billion ransom to set their captives free. Similar kidnappings had taken place across parts of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, which has now also become very unsafe for citizens.

Kidnapping in Nigeria today is not only a growing trend associated with militancy and, or, banditry alone. It is now a lucrative enterprise amongst desperate (frustrated), idle, youths in our society which is impacting negatively on almost every segment of society – both individuals, families and businesses! Also, the perpetrators of this crime are becoming more and more emboldened and cruel, considering their modes of operations.

They even post videos of their atrocious cruelties on social media, even as they demand ransom payments from their victims’ families and friends.

Ransoms are usually demanded in millions of naira. Sometimes, they even demand that the ransom be paid in foreign currencies from the families and friends of victims who cut across different strata of society. These include children, women, pupils, men, undergraduates, lecturers, traditional rulers, government officials, farmers, medical practitioners, etc. Even military officers as well as police officers are not spared.

Sometimes, some of the people kidnapped are unlucky as they get killed, despite meeting the kidnappers’ demands. There have also been situations where the kidnapped victims get killed while their loved ones are still running around to raise money to pay for their ransom.

A clear example of this is was the recent case of 10 victims seized from their homes inside an estate in Abuja. The victims were from the same family. The public was enraged when the news broke out that three of the abducted victims, a 13-year-old girl, had been killed, even as the criminals raised ransom from the initial N60m per victim to N100m.

However, the public believes that government should give traditional institutions a role to play in curtailing criminal activities within their domains since they are the custodians of our traditions, culture, norms, values and history. The criminals who live within their localities could be arrested if the traditional rulers are given constitutional backing through the introduction of state police.

Therefore, state police would serve as a link between the traditional rulers and their localities in the task of checking criminal activities at the grassroots since most of the kidnappings are carried out in the rural areas and suburbs of cities.

Moreover, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies should reinvigorate their efforts in information gathering and quick response to security threats.

The government needs to give traditional institutions the constitutional backing to enable them take full control of their localities so as to be able to effectively report and expose the criminal activities in their domains.

Establishing state police should be a national consensus that should involve all and sundry in order to speedily address the issue of insecurity that has continued bedeviling our country for many years now.

By HOSEA NYAMLONG