Army arrests 365 in Plateau for drugs, illicit weapons

The Commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major-General Rogers Nicholas, whose outfit is saddled with the responsibility of keeping peace in Plateau State, has decried the high rate of drug abuse and other crimes in the state. According to him, the task force has, in the last six weeks, arrested over 300 persons for drug-related offences and another 65 in possession of illicit, dangerous weapons.

Major-General Nicholas, who faulted the criminal justice system in the country and called for an overhaul for speedy trial, also appealed to youths not only in the state but also nationwide to eschew violence and give peace a chance, so development could be achieved. 

Nicholas, who spoke yesterday in Jos at a consultative dialogue conference on Youth, Security and Governance in Plateau State, organised by Centre for Youth Participation Dialogue and Advocacy Africa, CYPA, in Jos yesterday, tasked all citizens on security consciousness. 

He said operators of tricycles, popularly known as Keke Napep, were a threat to security, since they constituted the bulk of the criminals in the state. Other speakers at the event, Director General, Plateau State Peace Building Agency, Joseph Lengmang, and a professor of law and human rights lawyer, Nnamdi Aduba, who spoke on Youths, Security and Governance: Charting the Way Forward in Plateau State, urged the youths to be law abiding, get skills and stop making themselves tools for destruction. Earlier, the Centre’s Country Director, Chris Iyama, spoke on the aim of the event.