Chairmen of the 17 local government areas in Plateau State have agreed to establish formally registered security outfits to complement conventional security agencies in tackling killings and other security challenges across the state.

The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ephraim Usman Gar, disclosed this on Thursday during a press conference in Jos, where he presented a report on the ministry’s inspection tour of projects across the state.

Gar, who was flanked by the 17 council chairmen, said they had agreed to adopt the security initiative in Wase Local Government Area as a model for strengthening community-level security.

He said, “Right now, we have Wase LGA that has trained its own personnel. But it is just a matter of time before other LGAs follow suit, and they have all agreed that they are going to take a cue to have a formal security outfit that will help our conventional security agencies combat crimes within our society.”

He explained that the Wase security personnel underwent three months of training conducted by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

“Formal registration of the outfits would facilitate information dissemination and improve collaboration between local security personnel and conventional security agencies,” he added.

He cited the Wase Rock Security Network Limited, whose 140 officers recently completed training and participated in a passing-out parade organised by the council chairman, Hamisu Mohammed Anani.

The ceremony also featured the donation of 25 patrol motorcycles and two Toyota Hilux vehicles to improve the officers’ mobility and response to security incidents.

“The outfit was formally inaugurated by the Plateau State Command of the NSCDC following a training programme,” he stated.

The security plan comes amid persistent security concerns in parts of Plateau State, where attacks and killings have repeatedly affected communities.

Meanwhile, Gar said the ministry’s inspection tour was aimed at assessing completed and ongoing projects executed by the 17 local government councils, checking the quality of the projects and ensuring that public funds were judiciously utilised.

He said the tour covered the state’s three senatorial zones and that the ministry was satisfied with the projects inspected.

“Providing dividends of democracy at the grassroots remains the top priority of this administration. From what we have seen, governance has truly been taken closer to the people.

“The Chairmen have no option but to key into the vision of Governor Mutfwang, and they have justified the confidence reposed in them,” he said.

Among the projects inspected in the Southern Zone were the remodelling of a youth centre, a mini stadium, computer-based test centres, primary healthcare facilities, motorised boreholes and solar-powered streetlights.

The team also inspected the Wase Rock Radio and Television Station and facilities at the temporary headquarters of the Nigerian Army’s 175 Infantry Motorcycle Battalion.

In the Central Zone, projects inspected included the 23-kilometre Gugur Road in Kanke, a 1,500-capacity event hall in Mangu and a 200-capacity anatomy laboratory at Plateau State University, Bokkos, funded by the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria.

Other projects included primary healthcare centres, rural electrification facilities and the palace of the Ngolong Ngas.

In the Northern Zone, the team inspected primary healthcare centres, rural electrification projects, council secretariats, information and communication technology centres, markets, bridges, police outposts and town halls.

The planned outfits would add another layer to Plateau’s existing community-security arrangements.

The state already has Operation Rainbow and Neighbourhood Watch, established under the Plateau State Operation Rainbow and Neighbourhood Watch Law of 2012, with the latter serving as a civilian intelligence-gathering structure to support security operations.

The proposal also comes against the backdrop of renewed attacks across the state. At least 13 people were reportedly killed in separate attacks in Jos South, Mangu and Riyom on September 13, 2026, while an August attack on communities in Mangu left at least 25 people dead.