From Jude Owuamanam, Jos

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has said that the state will leverage technology to fight insecurity in the state.

He said that the system would ensure that the state was on a24-hour surveillance.

Speaking at a media parley with members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), in Jos on Friday, the governor said that the innovation had been tried before but expressed optimism that it would help to checkmate the activities of bandits and other undesirable elements in the state.

He recalled that three weeks before his inauguration, a reign of terror was unleashed on Mangu and Bokos.

Mutfwang said that the state tried to contain it, with noticeable decline in attacks by June of last year until the unfortunate December 24-26 incident that cast a slur on the development of the state.

The governor regretted that part of the obstacles in fighting insecurity was the concentration of military apparatuses on the centre.

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He said that this had hindered effective fight against insecurity as governors, though the chief security officer of their state, do not have the power to command the security forces.

Mutfwang said: “As you know, part of the challenge of managing security is the federal structure we operate because we have a unitary security system in a federal system. And so directives have to come from Abuja; people are far removed from the scene. They are not close to where the challenges are.

“And even though governors are the chief security officers of their states, the truth is that they don’t command any troop. And so you need to enhance your management skills in order to relate with the security chiefs and get their men to perform optimally.

“Of course, along the line, we have also engineered communities to stand up for themselves. We have also promoted both intra and inter-community relations so that all the cracks that normally allow these criminals to come in unawares are reduced to the barest minimum. And I want to thank God that today we can say that there is relative peace on the plateau.

“It’s not yet Uhuru yet. We have a long way to go, and I want to assure you that we are continuing to bring out strategies on how to contain and forestall the challenges because we know that those who have been unleashing these attacks have not stopped. They probably would not want to stop. By the grace of God, we will stop them.”

The governor said that the state was witnessing revolution in every sector, and exploring every option, including private- public partnership to enhance the overall development of the state.