A Plateau-based youth group has called on authorities driving the proposed state police to involve traditional rulers in the recruitment process to ensure only credible and patriotic candidates are enlisted.
The group made the call on Wednesday in Jos, citing sustained attacks across the state that have claimed over 200 lives in the last five months.
Addressing journalists, the group’s leader, Barrister Solomon Dalyop, said residents of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area now have more confidence in the Department of State Services (DSS) than in conventional security agencies, which have been in the area for decades without stopping the killings.
He noted that the deployment of DSS operatives to Barkin Ladi had reduced attacks significantly. He urged government to sustain the agency’s presence and replicate its intelligence-driven model in other volatile LGAs in Plateau and across Nigeria.
“Proactive, intelligence-led deployments with inter-agency synergy will strengthen protection of lives and property, restore public confidence, and deny criminals the space they have exploited for too long,” Dalyop said.
“As indigenous peoples who have paid dearly in blood and displacement, we support every constitutional and professional measure aimed at dismantling terrorist networks, reclaiming occupied communities, and guaranteeing residents the freedom to live, farm and worship without fear.”
The group also urged citizens to provide timely and credible intelligence to security agencies and to reject misinformation and propaganda.
It pledged support for the DSS and other security agencies, commending officers for their sacrifices in restoring peace.
“The tears of our widows and orphans demand action, not rhetoric,” the statement added. “The future of Plateau depends on our resolve to ensure that terror never triumphs over peace.”
