Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State has approved the employment of 350 persons for the state’s owned security outfit, Operation Rainbow, to assist in information gathering in the hinterlands.

Lalong stated this while speaking at a meeting of traditional rulers on the recent violence that engulfed parts of the state at the Dialogue, Reconciliation and Peace (DREP) Centre in Kwang, Jos South Local Government Area.

He said a command centre for information gathering had already been established at the Operation Rainbow headquarters in Jos, adding that the 350 persons would be employed in every ward to assist security agents with information that would check crisis.

He said as part of efforts to curb crime and criminality, he would be signing into law a bill banning the sale and consumption of illicit drugs in the state within the week.