By; Bala B. Bitrus, Minna.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state has urged citizens in all parts of the state to be diligently vigilant and report any strange, suspicious person or group of persons in their midst to security agencies even as he warned them against accommodating unknown persons on transit.
The notice of caution from the Governor is against the backdrop of the alert issued by the Nigerian Army that some dislodged members of the terrorist Boko Haram had spilled out of the Sambisa forest into other places following the heavy onslaught against them that led to the capture of the forest that was once their enclave and operational base in Borno state.
The Governor said in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Jibrin Baba Ndace that the terrorists who are on the run from the heat in the North East must not be allowed in any part of the state. He therefore enjoined citizens to keep eagle eyes within their domains on the lookout for strange faces and or movements of persons.who might want to seek refuge in the state.
The statement quoted the Governor as saying that the capture and fall of Sambisa Forest, the last stronghold of the insurgents calls for vigilance and proactive measures by states and their citizens so that the fleeing members of the terrorist Islamist fundamentalists are not offered sanctuaries from where they could regroup and restratigize for future offensives against Nigerians.
The statement cautioned that citizens, all and sundry, must not allow any strange face, disguised or opened to dwell amongst them without reporting such to the security agencies promptly.
The Governor reminded all citizens that security is everybody’s business just as he urged citizens to be weary and watchful and not harbor unknown strangers no matter the request or pleas put forward by such persons. He stressed that “security issue is a collective responsibility of all and sundry “.
And as precautionary measure, the Governor disclosed that security apparatuses in the state have been mobilized and directed to spread their dragnets across the length and breadth of the state towards ensuring that Niger state does not become a haven for the fleeing Boko Haram members or any criminal element.
