11th August, 2011
Men of the State Security Service (SSS) in Kogi have started monitoring preaching in mosques and churches, as part of measures to prevent religious crisis in the state.
The state Director of SSS, Mr. Mike Fubara, told newsmen in Lokoja on Wednesday that the organisation had also been monitoring open air preaching and other religious events in different parts of the state.
Fubara said that it was now mandatory for intending preachers from within and outside the state to undergo screening and get clearance from the SSS before preaching.
He said that hotels in the state were now under intense surveillance to prevent unscrupulous elements from using them as hideouts to perpetrate criminal activities.
The SSS boss said that banks and corporate organisations operating in the state had been invited to meetings and given specific instructions to beef up security in and around their premises.
He said that similar meetings had also been held with the leadership of transport unions, adding that operation of commercial motorcycles would come under new regulations as soon as Ramadan fast was over.
Fubara said that the cordial working relationship among the security agencies in the state had helped in preventing the spill over of Boko Haram activities into the state.
As the state gears up for the governorship election later this year, the security chief appealed to journalists to refrain from heating up the polity and urged them to be fair in their reportage of political events.
He also urged residents to provide useful information to security agencies.