The Gombe State Government has outlawed the scrap metal trade, widely known as Bola Jari, describing the business as a growing threat that fuels vandalism, criminal networks, and worsening insecurity across communities.
According to the government, the decision followed mounting intelligence linking scrap metal dealings to insecurity and the destruction of public assets, stressing that the ban was necessary to disrupt criminal supply chains.
The ban was announced yesterday after an expanded State Security Council meeting held in Gombe and presided over by Governor Muhammadu Yahaya.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Zubair Umar, explained that the council reviewed security reports showing that vandalised school facilities and government property were frequently sold through scrap dealers.
“We cannot allow economic activities that directly enable crime to thrive unchecked,” he said.
Beyond the ban, the council approved tighter surveillance measures, including profiling individuals relocating into the state, to strengthen intelligence gathering and support security agencies.
Umar noted that personal data documentation would aid timely verification whenever threats arise.
On lingering farmer-herder tensions, the attorney-general disclosed that an enforcement committee had been inaugurated to implement the White Paper on Grazing Reserves and Cattle Routes, aimed at reducing conflict and promoting coexistence.
Similarly, the Commissioner of Police in Gombe State, Umar Chuso, said security operations had intensified following recent abductions and killings in Pindiga, Akko Local Government Area.
“Our priority is rescuing victims and ensuring those responsible are brought to justice,” he said.
