Plateau State Commissioner of Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, has condemned the disruption of peace in Bukuru, the headquarters of Jos South Local Government area of the State, by hoodlums opposing the state government’s efforts to sanitize the Jos/Bukuru metropolis.
He emphasized that the clearing of the roads was executed lawfully.
On Monday afternoon, these hoodlums defied Plateau State Government Executive Order 003, setting cars ablaze and looting shops at the Bukuru market while attacking members of the Task Force enforcing the order. This executive order aims to regulate buildings and vehicular traffic within the Greater Jos master plan, addressing the issue of makeshift shops obstructing traffic flow in the Jos and Bukuru areas.
The commissioner said: “Plateau State on Monday, June 16, 2024, woke up to another gory descent to criminality as the Joint Task Force executing the Executive Order 003 made to carry out its lawful duty in the Bukuru metropolitan area.”
He continued, “In line with its brief, the Jos Metropolitan Development Board, JMDB Joint Task Force was at the Bukuru market to ensure that businesses were in operation within the ambit of law, given that the market was designated by the government to accommodate only lawful activities without provision for street vendors.”
Reflecting on a similar incident, Ashoms said, “But like an apparition of the recent Ahmadu Bello Way incident where resistance to the enforcement of this order led to the tragedy of that day, gangs of miscreants came at the task force once again.”
Condemning the property destruction and expressing sympathy for those affected, he assured the public of the government’s capability to address this issue and bring perpetrators to justice.
Ashoms noted, “This recurring bad behaviour is not only sad but provocative. That government’s authority to enforce law and order for the common good, despite massive publicity and engagement, can be so brazenly challenged amounts to blackmail to which the government is not ready to succumb.”
He further emphasized the government’s commitment to progress: “It is unfortunate, therefore, that elements fixated on the old ugly path of retrogression are trying to impede the march of progress. But we dare say the time to let go of the past is now, as no amount of resistance by beneficiaries of a bad system will stop the progress.”
Meanwhile, State Commissioner of Police CP Emmanuel Adesina has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to ensure adequate deployment of policemen to the scene to restore normalcy. Additionally, he has ordered all Area Commanders and DPOs within the Jos-Bukuru metropolis to intensify patrol and surveillance activities to prevent further breakdowns of law and order.
He warned, “all persons with criminal intentions within the State to either desist from such activities or flee the State, as the Police Command under his leadership remains resolute in the fight against crime and criminality.”
The CP also encouraged “all Plateau residents to comply with all the policies of the Government, as they are meant for the peace, progress, and general development of the State.”
