The Plateau State Police Command has refuted a viral social media post alleging that passengers were being intercepted and attacked by religious extremists along Rukuba Road in Jos.
Describing the claim as fictitious and misleading, the command warned that the post was designed to cause panic and unrest in the state.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Alabo Alfred, said, “In a bid to ensure that crisis merchants do not misuse social media to cause unnecessary tension in the state, the Plateau State Police Command through its reliable social media monitoring mechanism has stumbled on a fictitious and misleading post by an anonymous source, who attempts to raise a false alarm and tension, claiming that passengers are being intercepted, profiled and attacked along Rukuba Road, Jos by a group of religious extremists.”;
He stressed that the command views the post as a deliberate attempt “by purveyors of falsehood and enemies of peace in the state to blow the fan of resentment amidst the current security situation of the state for their personal gains.”;
Alfred assured residents that Rukuba Road remains peaceful and secure.
“Rukuba Road, where the poster is pictured as apprehensive, is calm and peaceful. There is a free flow of traffic without hindrance, and everybody is going about their lawful business without any form of harassment or hostility.
“It is, however, ridiculous for the authors of this post to think that they can plunge the state into chaos with such a baseless and empty post that has no substance or reality in it.”;
The command called on the public to disregard the post, warning that such disinformation could trigger serious ethno-religious tensions.
“Members of the general public are hereby urged to disregard and jettison the deceptive post as it is capable of igniting ethno-religious fracas in the state. Our social media monitoring experts have already swung into action to unmask the author(s) of the obnoxious post to bring them to justice.
“The Plateau State Police Command remains committed to its constitutional responsibility of maintaining peace and orderliness in the state.”;
The police also provided emergency contact numbers for citizens to report any security issues: 07059473022, 08038907662, 08075391844, and 09053872296.
The statement comes in the wake of heightened security concerns following recent deadly attacks in Bokkos and Bassa LGAs, which resulted in multiple deaths and displacement of many more.
