Speaker urges stringent measures to curb killings

As killings by armed bandits become more common in Plateau, Joshua Madaki, Speaker of its House of Assembly, has challenged security agencies to adopt stringent measures to end the trend.
Madaki threw the challenge on Monday in Jos, while reacting to the killing of his Head Driver, Azi Magaji, on Sunday.
Also killed by the armed bandits, who attacked innocent residents of Zarazong, a community that hosts the Jos University Teaching Hospital, was Edward Ankpa, a security guard at the hospital.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that two other security personnel manning one of the hospital’s gate were shot by the armed bandits that fled after hitting their targets.
Madaki, in a statement signed by his Press Secretary, Philip Asten, urged security agents to be proactive and respond more promptly to security alerts.
The Speaker condemned the spate of killings that were making the state unsafe for law abiding residents, and urged security agencies to intensify patrols on lonely paths.
He expressed the fear that the situation could worsen with the elections at hand, and advised heads of security agencies to beef up rapid response mechanisms to stem down crime rate in Plateau.