Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has declared a 24-hour curfew in Jos North Local Government Area of the state following the massacre of 22 travellers on Saturday by marauding youths.
This came on the heels of the earlier dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed on three local government areas— Bassa, Jos South and Jos North.
The development came as the result of ongoing security threats and tension being witnessed by residents in some parts of the state.
The state government said it was concerned about “the persisting tensions and reported attempts by some persons to take the laws into their hands by threatening to attack individuals and private facilities, as well as public property.”
The Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Makut Macham in a statement issued on Sunday morning, said: “Hours after announcing dusk-to-dawn curfew in three local government areas of Jos North, Jos South and Bassa, Governor Simon Lalong has directed the imposition of a 24-hour curfew in Jos North to contain further security threats. In the directive, the Governor said “from 2pm of today, Sunday, August 15, a 24-hour curfew will come into effect in Jos North Local Government Area. This is necessitated by security reports which indicate rising threats to the safety of lives and properties within the Local Government. The Governor, therefore, urges citizens to abide by the curfew and remain indoors to allow security agencies maintain law and order and deal with those bent on causing chaos.”
The curfew remains in force until further notice.
However, troops of Operation SAFE HAVEN, OPSH, on Sunday morning, rescued seven more victims of the recent attack on commuters in Jos.
Major Ishaku Takwa, the military Information Officer noted, “The victims have been taken to a safe place for medical attention and care. The troops are still on search operation to find the remaining missing victims.”