Looting Cost Plateau State N75 billion – Gov. Lalong

The Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, has claimed that about N75 billion worth of properties were looted and destroyed during the recent looting spree in the state.

Speaking in an interactive session with youths, Lalong said hoodlums also destroyed 32 public and private properties.

According to the Governor, the looting had nothing to do with the End SARS protests, “but a clear act of criminality and unpatriotic behaviour”.

Lalong disclosed this during an interactive session with youths in the state.

He said: “The level of destruction and carnage is unbelievable and unacceptable. We are still trying to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the total cost of the damage.

“However, the preliminary report by a team of experts I constituted has estimated the losses to be at about 75 billion Naira for now.

“This clearly takes us many years backwards as we do not have the resources to replace the structures vandalised and the items damaged or stolen.

“We are yet to recover from the devastating economic consequences of COVID-19 which has greatly affected our capacity to provide services.”

The governor stated that the destruction was a clear act of criminality and unpatriotic behaviour.

“My dear youth, as a father and your Governor, I feel your pain. My heart goes out to all our youths for the many challenges they face daily due to lack of opportunities for jobs and better conditions to achieve their dreams,” he said.

“This is a burden that has accumulated over time which our administration is working hard to address. It is always confusing when people demand justice by either violating laws or trampling on the rights of others. That can only breed chaos and anarchy leading to worse consequences than what they sought to address in the first place.

“You would agree with me that the enormity of the challenges we face cannot be resolved overnight or with a wave of the hand. It is a process which all of us must collectively work together to achieve.”