Benue gov’t dismantles illegal road blocks

The Benue State government at the weekend dismantled scores of illegal checkpoints across the state.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security and Internal Affairs, Chief Joseph Har, who led the operation, wondered why members of the military, police, NSCDC, Nigeria Correctional Service, Immigration would mount blocks on federal roads when they are not members of the special squad of Operation ZENDA – the state joint taskforce.

 He said the exercise would continue until the state government rid all illegal roadblocks across the entire state, noting that further inquiries reveal that those manning the checkpoints at some areas were actually those deployed to protect the correctional facility he ordered and are dismantled. 

Har, who was accompanied by the Principal Special Assistant on Security and Internal Affairs, Hon Godwin Malu, explained the danger of having illicit checkpoints across the state as he stressed that it paints the image of the state in bad light before travellers. 

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The special adviser added that those travellers enroute Benue would perceive the state as an insecure environment with proliferation of checkpoints when compared to places they are coming from or going to such as Abuja, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu states with skeletal checkpoints. 

“The personnel (security checkpoints) divide themselves to have more checkpoints and get more spoils but do not take cognizance of the danger of having on one armed personnel and a campboy operating in an era where criminals are looking for weapons to harvest. 

“They offer T-shirts and other regalia to the camp boys to wear and open the barrier for them, thereby exposing these boys to using same regalia elsewhere to pose as law enforcement agents,” Har said