Governor Caleb Mutfwang declares Hisba group activities illegal in parts of Jos North LGA, citing reports of intimidation and extortion, and directs security agencies to identify and prosecute those involved.
Jos, Plateau State — August 30, 2026
Governor Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang has ordered an immediate halt to the activities of a group reportedly operating under the name Hisba in parts of Jos North Local Government Area, declaring such activities illegal, unauthorised, and unacceptable anywhere in Plateau State.
The directive follows reports of conduct allegedly involving intimidation, harassment, extortion, and the imposition of unauthorised rules on residents.
In a statement issued by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere, the governor warned all persons involved to immediately cease such activities or face arrest and prosecution under Nigerian law.
Mutfwang stressed that Plateau State operates under one constitution, one legal system, and one legitimate authority, and that government will not tolerate the emergence of any parallel authority or self-appointed enforcement body seeking to impose rules or sanctions on residents outside the established legal framework.
No individual or group has the authority to appoint itself the government of Plateau State. The responsibility for enforcing the law belongs to duly constituted authorities acting within the law, he said.
The governor directed security agencies to identify and investigate those involved in the reported activities, and, where sufficient evidence establishes a violation of the law, to arrest and prosecute those responsible, including anyone found to be promoting, sponsoring, aiding, or abetting the conduct.
He further directed agencies to intensify intelligence gathering to establish the full identity and scope of those involved, and to ensure residents are protected from intimidation, harassment, extortion, or any other form of unlawful coercion.
The statement was explicit that the directive is not aimed at any religion, ethnicity, or community, noting that Plateau State remains home to people of diverse faiths and backgrounds, all entitled to equal protection under the law.
It framed the issue strictly as one of lawful conduct and legitimate authority, asserting that every resident has the right to live, worship, work, and conduct business without interference from any self-appointed authority.
Mutfwang thanked members of the public who brought the reported activities to the government's attention and reaffirmed that protecting the lives, rights, dignity, and lawful freedoms of all residents remains a fundamental responsibility of government, describing Plateau's tradition of peaceful coexistence as something his administration intends to actively defend.
The directive comes at a moment when Plateau State's security architecture is already under significant strain from the mass-casualty attacks recorded in Mangu LGA earlier this month and sustained scrutiny over the state's overall security spending.
By moving quickly and explicitly to frame the crackdown as religiously and ethnically neutral, the administration appears keen to prevent the intervention from being read through the lens of the state's broader, often sensitive inter-communal dynamics, while still asserting the government's sole authority to enforce law and order within its territory.
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