The Plateau State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, has said that the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jos-Bukuru metropolis will be relaxed or lifted immediately the security situation improves.

The state government imposed curfew on Sunday when hoodlums were alleged to be planning to hijack the peaceful hunger protest.

Mr Ashoms told journalists in Jos on Tuesday that the government would review the situation before taking a decision on either to relax or lift the curfew.

He regretted the negative impact of the curfew on law-abiding citizens, saying, however, that the move was necessary to save the state from a repeat of the #EndSARS protest.

According to him, the state government, under the leadership of Gov. Caleb Mutfwang, is determined to protect the lives and property of the people, hence the decision.

“We’ve had a peaceful protest as far as Plateau is concerned and people have been using Plateau as a positive example. Lo and behold, on Sunday, we saw miscreants and hoodlums around the Bauchi Road in the Zololo Junction area, who went to attack people’s businesses.

“If we allow the situation to escalate, what will happen next? In the videos that we saw, you could hear them forcing people to come out to protest. This is something that you do willingly. Nobody should capture or coerce anybody into doing it. But we saw where they were wielding dangerous arms and ammunition. We thought that if this is not curtailed, it can lead to the destruction of property and possibly lives. So as a government that is responsible and proactive, we decided to impose a 24-hour curfew on Jos-Bukuru so that we can monitor the situation. Once there is a level of improvement, we will relax or lift the curfew,” the commissioner said.

He further said that before the curfew, the government had been engaging the youth especially on the need to shun the protest.

(NAN)