Chanchaga Local Government Council, in an expanded monthly security stakeholders meeting, has rolled out measures to curb youth restiveness and insecurity, including a ban on some business activities harbouring criminals in the local government area, especially at odd hours of the day.
The Council Chairman, Hon. Aminu Yakubu Ladan, made this disclosure while briefing journalists on the resolutions reached during the meeting, which took place at the council secretariat in Minna Wednesday.
He said they have discovered that some criminal elements take advantage of late-hour operations by some business owners, particularly eateries, to hide and plan their operations from such places, saying henceforth no business owner within Chanchaga local government will be allowed to operate beyond midnight.
The Council Chairman equally requested that all commercial motorcycle riders (Okada) should cease operations by midnight daily, adding that anyone caught violating the directive would be made to face the law.
Following the recent killing of a health worker in the Fadikpe community of the local government area, the council chairman disclosed that part of the resolutions reached was that all social gatherings taking place within the communities should end by 5 p.m., and where it has to go beyond 5 p.m., the organisers of such events should take it to event centres such as the Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre or its equivalent, where effective security is in place.
The Council Chairman also said the stakeholders had observed that the activities of scavengers within communities were constituting a nuisance and breeding criminals, and as such, "Scavengers operating in communities outside of their designated locations, Sabon Gari/PZ and Panteka, are hereby banned and given a 30-day ultimatum to vacate the areas."
"Any violator of these directives will be considered a default and will face the consequences of the action accordingly," said the council chairman.
He also reminded those engaging in terrible activities and disturbing the peace of the public to desist from that, as the shoot-at-sight order given by the state governor, Farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago, was still in place for anyone seen going about with dangerous weapons and harming innocent people.
Hon. Aminu Ladan added that those selling hard drugs within the local government area should retire and surrender before the council gets to them, because according to him, the council will soon constitute a taskforce that will be saddled with the responsibility of checking the activities of drug vendors in the local government.
He thereafter urged the people of the local government area to go about their lawful businesses for their daily livelihood, assuring that the council under his leadership was leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the local government was rid of criminal elements disturbing the peace of the public.
Chanchaga local government area has had its fair share of issues of insecurity, particularly youth restiveness, which has claimed some innocent lives, including those of a health worker and local security personnel.