Adamawa State governor Umaru Fintiri has called for a review of the curfew imposed on Yola North, Yola South and Girei because Shila Boys – mostly youths of 15 to 25 who are infamous for street larceny – have upped the ante and have been attacking residents of the three local government areas.

Fintiri wants the curfew – imposed during Ramadan from 11pm to 5pm – to begin an hour earlier to keep the miscreants off the streets. Humwashi Wonosikou, the governor’s press secretary, said Fintiri had directed the police to implement the new curfew hours – from 10pm to 5am – with immediate effect.

According a report by Bilyaminu Gambo Kong-kol, of Bayero University in Kano, the Shila Boys began terrorising residents in 2017 during the administration of former governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow.

The gang, usually disguised as commercial tricycle operators – also known as keke napep – specialised in snatching items, such as phones, computers, handbags, purses and money. Some used motorcycles to commit crime.

He said over time, the crimes got worse and sometimes gang members injured or killed their victims with machetes. They were also accused of kidnappings, robbery and selling and abusing drugs.

Residents became fearful of being attacked by the gang, which made it difficult for them to go about their normal businesses.

The gang would often used hotels and other hideouts for cover and to coordinate their activities.

When Fintiri was inaugurated in May last year he promised the government would take proactive measures to stop attacks by the Shila Boys.

The governor gave the miscreants two weeks to “repent or face the wrath of the law”.

Some gang members were arrested and other Shila Boys pledged to repent.

However, the gang has recently returned to terrorising citizens.

Fintiri said those who failed to comply with the new curfew would be arrested.

The government said the curfew was aimed at stopping the Shila Boys and other miscreants from perpetrating crime.

Mohammed Bukar, a resident of Adamawa Yola North, said he and other citizens were happy about the new curfew hours and believed they and their families would be more secure.

He said the gang often operated at night under the cover of dark to perpetrate their crimes. He hoped the curfew would put an end to that.

Some residents blamed parents for not training their children to behave in the right manner. They believed that because many young people had dropped out of school, they were easily coerced into joining crime gangs.

Muktar Adamu, from the department of mass communication at the University of Maiduguri, was reported as saying that more empowerment programmes should be introduced by the government and non-governmental organisations to discourage the youth from turning to crime.

He said citizens, the government and security agencies needed to come together to fight crime and “redouble efforts” to address the menace.