The Minister of Interior, retired Lt Gen. Abdulrahman Bello
Dambazau yesterday assured that Nigeria would remain peaceful on October 1 and beyond,
adding that the federal government had put in place security measures to
guarantee the safety of lives and property.
Dambazau who stated this in the Plateau State Government
House while on a fact finding mission and solidarity visit to the government
and people of the state following Thursday evening’s skirmishes stated:
“Measures have been put in place, the security agencies know precisely what to
do, when to do it and how to do it. We have the intelligence community that
feed information into the system so I want to guarantee you that nothing
extraordinary will happen. Even those who issued the October 1 quit notice have
withdrawn it.”
He commended the state government and security agencies for
quickly containing the skirmishes in the state and stressed that every Nigerian
has the right to stay anywhere. The minister added that the essence of the
Operation Python Dance 11 was not to intimidate or harass anybody but to ensure
that law abiding citizens are protected.
Governor Simon Bako Lalong while speaking to journalists
noted that the 6pm to 6am curfew would only be reviewed when youths behave
themselves, adding: “If the situation is very calm we will review it. The
curfew is for the public, not government. The community leaders have given us
assurance that they would go back to address their communities, the sooner the
better for us.”
By Lami Sadiq
