Ebonyi State government has threatened to seal some hotels, restaurants and drinking joints in the state for allowing criminals to hide in them to perpetrate evil in the state.
Stanley Okoro Emegha, the state commissioner for Border Peace and Conflict Resolution, in a statement in Abakaliki, the state capital, on Sunday, also warned night club managers against use of underage girls in their club centres at the odd hours of the night, noting that it was against the attitudinal change policy of the state government.
Emegha noted with dismay that hoodlums have formed the habit of hanging out in hotels, restaurants and joints in the state till late in the night from where they usually take off to perpetrate crimes and all forms of criminalities in the state capital.
“Sometimes, the proprietors of these joints are privy to the nefarious activities of these hoodlums without exposing their identity to security agents for possible arrest and prosecution, notwithstanding the fact that the state government has been keeping close surveillance on these joints for some time now,” Emegha said in the statement.
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“Consequently, the state government has perfected arrangements to seal the affected joints if the said proprietors who are assumed to be partners in crime with the hoodlums fail to refrain themselves from such reprehensible acts. Incidentally, it is on record that landlords of such hotel proprietors will equally not be left out in the state government sealing order,” he said.
“On the other hand, it has also been observed that some managers of night clubs have shamelessly allowed some of their teeming customers to parade a retinue of minors and under-aged youths, especially teenage girls below the age of 18 years, who usually indulge in all manner of immoral lifestyle at awkward hour of the night without recourse to the state government Attitudinal Change Campaign.
“Henceforth, the state government will not hesitate to revoke the right of occupancy of any landlord or penalise any hotel manager for condoning such immoral conduct that seemingly tends to compromise the future of Ebonyi youths. To be forewarned is to before armed,” the statement said.
