JTF BANS THE USE OF TRICYCLES IN JOS

The Special Task Force responsible for the maintenance of peace in Plateau State, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), on Friday banned the use of tricycle after 9pm within Jos/environs, and has charged citizens of the state to remain at alert and look out for strange faces among them.

This was disclosed by the Commander of OPSH, Major General Rogers Nicholas while briefing journalists at the OPSH’s headquarters in Jos.

Nicholas said the call became necessary to avoid the fleeing members of Boko Haram from settling among them, as the fleeing insurgents still poses serious security risk to the peace of the state.

“I have established a monthly media briefing to keep Plateau citizens a breast of issues regarding peace and security in the state under my command.

“I want to use the opportunity to let Plateau citizens know that they need to be on alert and be very vigilant of their environment because there are fillers that members of Boko Haram who have been displaced from the North-East might make Plateau State their safe haven to hide.

“With such information, residents needs to be very vigilant at all time and report to security agencies as soon as they notice any strange fellow around them.

“There is also need for residents to tighten their cooperation with security agencies and learn to report promptly.

The Commander lamented that crime in Jos city is on the increase, saying, “we have arrested over 120 suspects in the last few weeks and we have handed them over to the police for full investigation.”

He added that, even though the rise in crime could be attributed to mass unemployed youths in the state, police investigation will reveal the true identity of the criminals.

“All we have to let the people know is that they should be vigilant at all times to avoid these criminals hiding among them,” he stressed.

On the rumour of assassination plot targeted at top citizens in the State, Nicholas said, “In the last few days, the social media is awash with rumours that some top citizens of the state have been listed out for assassination, the rumour is not true, we have conducted investigations into the rumour and we are still conducting more investigations, but so far, we have not found any truth in the rumour.

“However, due to the current security situation in the state, we have taken measures to spoil the plan of these criminals, one of such measures is that we have banned the use of tricycle at night from 9pm till 5am. This is because the use of tricycle at night is posing serious security risk to us in the state.

“In addition, we will begin to enforce to total ban on motorcycles within Jos metropolis. There is law banning the use of motorcycles in this state, the law has not been fully enforced, we shall ensure full enforcement of that law immediately.

“We are also going to drive market women from around the Terminus market, because the population of the market is increasing and such huge population can be of great security risk considering recent experience of repeated bombing of the market.

“We are going to increase the regular stop and search routine on the roads in the state.

“The actions we are taking should not be seen as abuse of rights of citizens especially the commercial tricycle users, but should be seen as actions taken to safeguard lives and property,” he explained.