JUST IN | Police Seal Secretariats of All 17 LGAs in Plateau | METROWATCH

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have sealed the secretariats of all the 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Plateau state.

Spokesperson for the Plateau Police Command, DSP Alfred Alabo, confirmed the development to journalists on Thursday.

He said the development followed an order from the Inspector-General Of Police, IGP Usman Baba, to seal up the secretariats of the councils.

The order, he said, was due to skirmishes arising from the suspension of local government chairmen and subsequent appointment of transition committee by the state government.

Alabo noted that the resistance by the suspended chairmen was posing serious threats to the peace and security of the state.

The police image maker warned that the command will deal with anyone who attempts to violate this order, not minding his or her status in the society.

He, therefore, called on residents of the state to be peaceful and law abiding at all times.

Alabo said: “The IG has ordered the Commissioner of Police in Plateau, Bartholomew Onyeka, to seal up all the secretariats of all the local government areas in the state.

“This is necessary as a result of tensions around the leadership of the councils, and the possible threat that supporters are posing to critical infrastructure, lives and properties in the state.

“The decision to take this action is in accordance with the exercise of our constitutional responsibility as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), to ensure that the above doesn’t hold sway on the Plateau.

“To this end, the NPF on the Plateau cannot sit down and watch things go wrong under its watch, hence the need to make this critical decision of sealing up the local government secretariats.”

Backstory

The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, had on 1 June suspended all elected chairpersons in the state’s 17 local government areas (LGAs) following the recommendation of the Plateau State House of Assembly.

Muftwang said that the suspension followed their inability to produce documents related to financial transactions in the various LGAs, saying all efforts to make them produce the documents were unsuccessful.

He explained that the state government after careful study of the recommendations resolved to suspend the chairpersons in order to conduct an efficient and proper investigation of the development.