The Benue Security Council, on Thursday, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on three local government areas of the state as part of measures to contain criminal activities in the vicinity.
The affected areas are Logo, Ukum and Katsina-Ala LGs where security agencies had in recent times beamed their searchlight in a bid to curb the menace of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery among other insecurity challenges.
Also, the council placed a N5m bounty on the head of killers of Chief Terkura Suswam, an elder brother of a former Governor of the state, Senator Gabriel Suswam, urging the public to provide any useful information which could help security personnel apprehend the culprits.
Governor of the state, Samuel Ortom, who made this known while briefing journalists at the end of an expanded state security council meeting in Makurdi, explained that the curfew remains in force with immediate effect between 6:00 pm and 6:00 am daily.
Ortom also said that the council had resolved to ban the use of old model Toyota Corolla popularly used in the area for criminality just as it sustained the ban on the use of motorcycles of all kinds pending further review of the security situation.
Security agents to impound vehicles
He said security agencies in the state have also been mandated by the council to arrest and impound all vehicles within the category of the ban while commercial vehicles must update their papers to ensure that they are not fake.
The governor emphasised that the decision to include Logo Local Government Area in the ban followed heinous attacks on residents, the recent being the killing of Chief Suswam and his aide on Tuesday night.
“Council declares total war on criminal elements, bandits and all forms of criminality in the state.
“This decision is coming when President Muhammadu Buhari has also declared war on anyone carrying AK47,” he posited.
Ortom, however, informed that the council resolved to sensitise all schools in the state including those in the three local government areas which made up Sankara on the need to be security conscious in the face of general insecurity in the country.
“We will set up a committee to monitor the sensitization while security will be mounted on strategic places.
“We will profile all schools in the state so they can recommend to us the best approach to employ in securing the educational sector,” he added.
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