1,000 “Operation Rainbow “Staff Cries Out In Agony Over Plans To Sack Them By Lalong’s Govt

Yakubu Busari

At least no fewer than 1000 personnel of “Operation Rainbow” now risk sacking and to be replaced by persons whom the State Government have interest in and those loyal them.

It is revealed to this medium that Government plan to embark on the indiscriminate sacking of officers who they claim were recruited and trained by the immediate past regime as they have not been paid since 2011.

Our source disclosed that the staff who only received N16, 000.00 table payments through the office of coordinator of, “Operation Rainbow” in 2011 soon after the return from training are yet to get any salary till now.

According to our source, this security outfit was set up by the Plateau State government to take over the maintenance of security in the state code-named “Operation Rainbow” , but this medium gathered that the aim of may have been defeated especially now the staff are complaining of mass sacking of some officers where the state government is alleged of planning to replace them with their own people .

it would be recalled that former Governor Jonah David Jang established the outfit which was approved by former President Goodluck Jonathan the then Chief commander of the federal republic of Nigeria”.

It was a serious challenge that staffs were trained in Israel and began operation on 24th December 2011 as operatives of operation Rainbow where they were placed on a payment of N1, 000 as transportation cost and they were also paid money for ID cards in June 2012 and after that, they were abandoned.

This medium gathered that with the rampaging killings in Plateau communities, citizens are no longer safe, as this is the right time for the security operatives to be used in addressing security crisis that is bedeviling the state.

Their complaint is that their staffs cut across the 17 local governments were used to create public awareness so as to sensitize people on its activities before it finally takes off with its physical programme.

The recruitment of about 3,250 personnel made up of 10 youths from each of the 325 wards in the state to serve as “neighborhood watchmen record its worst that since January 2013 no kobo was paid to them.”

Information revealed that the core personnel making the outfit made up of about 2,000 men are drawn from serving military and paramilitary outfits in the country which include; the army, air force, navy, immigration service, the police, Nigeria civil defense corps, the national drug law enforcement agency, and the fire service respectively.

Our source said the neighborhood watch who are civilians, are suffering without salary while core of the operatives drawn from the military and paramilitary outfits in the state are the ones to carry firearms but will be properly educated on how to go about it.

This medium gathered the governor plans to work with one thousand civilian operatives by disengaging 4000 civilian personnel.

As gathered by this medium, it is alleged that the government is planning to compromise the use of local security with the diversion of operatives’ salaries and operational vehicles used by them in various LGAs.

However, all efforts to speak with the Operation Rainbow coordinator proved abortive as this medium find it difficult to assess him in his office.