Police have sealed the secretariats of all 17 local government councils in Plateau.

This is contained in a statement by police spokesman DSP Alfred Alabo on Thursday.

“The decision followed an order from the inspector general of police Usman Baba, to seal up the secretariats of the councils,” said the statement. “The order is due to skirmishes arising from the suspension of local government chairmen and subsequent appointment of transition committee by the state government.”

According to him, in a bid to take the mantle of leadership by the appointed chairmen and the resistance by the suspended chairmen was posing serious threats to the peace and security of the state.

“The IG has ordered the commissioner of police in Plateau, Bartholomew Onyeka, to seal up all the secretariats of all the local government areas in the state. This is necessary as a result of tensions around the leadership of the councils and the possible threat that supporters are posing to critical infrastructure, lives and properties in the state,” the statement added.

The police force said the decision “is in accordance with the exercise of our constitutional responsibility as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to ensure that the above doesn’t hold sway on the Plateau,” adding that “to this end, the NPF on the Plateau cannot sit down and watch things go wrong under its watch, hence the need to make this critical decision of sealing up the local government secretariats.”

Governor Caleb Mutfwang had on 1 June suspended all democratic structures in the state’s 17 local government areas following the recommendation of the Plateau House of Assembly.

Mr Muftwang said the suspension followed their inability to produce documents related to financial transactions in the various local governments, saying all efforts to make them produce the documents were unsuccessful.

After carefully studying the recommendations, he explained that the Plateau government resolved to suspend the chairpersons to conduct an efficient and proper investigation of the development.

(NAN)