Jang accuses military, police of harbouring Boko Haram

Written by Daily Trust Thursday, 09 February 2012

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau yesterday advised the Federal Government to overhaul the security agencies, to cleanse the system of suspicious characters.

 Jang, who spoke in Jos when he received Mr Aloysius Okorie, Police AIG Zone 4, said that such overhaul was necessary as the spate of attacks in the country had shown that some security personnel were insiders.

 President Goodluck Jonathan had declared in January that members of  Boko Haram, the sect blamed for the numerous attacks on the nation, had infiltrated all strata of the Nigerian society.

Jang, who expressed disgust at the recent attack on military formations in Kaduna, said that its pattern had confirmed that some insiders were behind it.

The governor expressed concern over the alarming rate at which criminals escaped from detention, and also wondered why they were usually arraigned and bailed at Magistrate’s Courts.

According to him, such grievous cases should usually be handled by the High Courts.

“I have always said it that terrorists have penetrated the security agencies, they are there and the leadership of the security agencies must be bold enough to flush them out of the services.

Jang said that the prevailing security situation in the country had further vindicated him.

“When we alerted the nation that Plateau and the country were under siege, I was accused of raising false alarms,” he said.

He challenged the relevant authorities to muster enough political will to deal with the situation, noting that the country’s police dealt with Maitasane sect that carried out a spate of attacks in the 1980s without the support of the military.

Jang said that government should ensure that those caught in acts of terrorism should face the full wrath of the law and condemned efforts in some quarters to give them soft landings.

Earlier, Okorie said that he was in Jos to bid Jang farewell as he would leave the service on Feb. 14 after 60 years of age and 33 years of active service.

Okorie regretted that incompetent officers were sometimes sent to certain areas for primordial motives but commended the new military Special Task Force (STF) Commander, Maj.-Gen. Oluwaseun Oshinowo and Plateau police authorities for their professionalism in handling the Jos unrest. (NAN)

Comments (0)

Show/hide comments

Show/hide comment form