Benue State has implemented strict regulations on public gatherings and urban farming, indicating a significant step towards controlling criminal activities and improving public safety. Last Friday, Governor Hyacinth Alia signed an executive order creating a new department inside the Ministry of Justice called the Department of Public Order, with the goal of organizing and implementing these new regulations.
The state has seen an increase in political violence and criminal activity, including kidnappings, killings, and the emergence of armies and local warlords. At a ceremony held at the Government House in Makurdi, Governor Alia—represented by his deputy, Sam Odeh—explained the details of the order, citing the Public Order Act, CAP 382 of the Federal Government, and the 1999 Constitution as its foundation.
Numerous actions that are considered to be safety risks or public annoyances are now forbidden by this new order. These include ignoring traffic laws, abusing and using children as labor, prostitution in all its manifestations, careless trash disposal on road borders, and public urine and excrement. The directive also strongly condemns the development of buildings on water channels without permission, the installation of shanties and kiosks on right-of-ways, and roadside sales and hawking.
The executive order’s curfew, which prohibits public gatherings—including wakes and rallies—from lasting past 10 p.m., is one of its most prominent features. This decision, which reflects the state’s efforts to reduce chances for nighttime criminal activity, is especially painful and ensure the safety of its citizens during vulnerable hours.
The particular topic of urban farming—which is prohibited on vacant, unfenced lots of land, in front of businesses, on streets, by the side of the road in metropolitan areas, and on undeveloped government land—was also covered by Governor Alia. This policy attempts to control how land is used in cities such that it benefits the community’s aesthetics and environmental well-being.
If these new restrictions are broken, the consequences can be severe and include fines of N20,000 to N500,000 as well as imprisonment in certain situations, depending on how serious the infraction was. The governor did, however, allow for some flexibility, pointing out that anybody who wanted to host public activities after 10 p.m. might seek for a permission from the Ministry of Justice’s Department of Public Order.
Governor Alia announced the establishment of a Public Order Advisory Committee to aid in the enforcement of these restrictions. The committee’s mandate is to provide policy recommendations to the government regarding measures aimed at restoring, achieving, safeguarding, and preserving public safety and order. In addition, all local government districts will have a Public Order Committee that will work with the advisory committee and other relevant parties to efficiently enforce these regulations.
