The Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has called on the Federal Government to secure the borders of the northern states against terrorists.
Lalong made the call in an interview on Arise Television on Saturday, which was monitored by our correspondent.
He said military patrols should be in place at the borders between Plateau, Kaduna, Bauchi and Taraba states to prevent the influx of terrorists from adjoining states.
He lamented that despite efforts to secure the state, terrorists were finding ways to disrupt the peace of the communities, adding that the new waves of attacks on Kanam and neighbouring communities were carried out by terrorists.
Lalong stated, “When we give attention to a certain area, the bandits will go to another place that has relative peace. They have also made areas where mineral resources are located unliveable and have made those areas their hideouts despite the military presence in those areas.
“Most of the places that were destroyed by bandits are areas where we have unexplored mineral resources that should boost the revenue of the state and the nation.”
The governor said he told the National Council of State at its recent meeting in Abuja about the need for more presence of security operatives at the borders between the North-West and North-Central states.
He expressed the fear that bandits/terrorists might begin to move to the North-Central states in order to escape from attacks and heavy presence of troops in the North-East and the North-West regions.
Lalong stated, “We agreed at the level of the NGF to protect our borders. I told the council that at the level of the NGF, we have advised the President to create something called ‘The Frontline States’, where we will have soldiers stationed at the borders of the northern states to prevent the influx of bandits.
“The strategy also addresses the issues of unoccupied spaces in the northern states. When we told the President about the submission earlier, he told us to speak with the Chief of Army Staff, but it was not long before he was assassinated. At the Council of State meeting, we asked what was delaying the implementation of the strategy.”
Speaking on the long history of violence in Plateau State, he said the state had witnessed 20 years of uncertainty, which was first sparked by an election that dovetailed into an ethno-religious crisis.
This was followed by eight years of violent clashes between farmers and herders, indigenes and settlers, and the Birom and Fulani, under the former governor Jonah Jang.
Lalong said he was privy to several committees and commissions, such as the Niki-Tobi Commission, when he was the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, which helped him to focus on the solutions to the problems in the state.
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