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Sylvanus Viashima, Jalingo
The Taraba State Police command have arrested 17 suspects in connection with the looting of public and private property in Jalingo the state capital under the guise of #endSARS protest.
The spokesperson of the command DSP David Misal who disclosed this on Monday evening in Jalingo said that two bodies including that of one Mr Chukwu Osinachi, a Corp member who passed out recently and a yet to be identified person have been recovered, both of who are suspected to have died in connection with the ongoing looting spree in the state.
“Gentle men of the press I once again welcome you to today’s press briefing. I have invited you here on behalf of the Commissioner of Police to keep you abreast of the activities of some unscrupulous youths who took to the streets of Jalingo with evil intentions in the guise of #ENDSARS. Even though the SARS has been disbanded by the Inspector-General of Police, yet the youths went about looting, vandalizing and burning some government and private properties in the State.
“Police, as the lead agency in the internal security, values and respects the principles of human rights and peaceful protest as one of the fundamental human rights of citizens as stated in our constitution. However, on the 24/10/2020 the protest took another dimension as criminal minded individuals embarked on destructions, vandalization and looting of property as aforementioned.
It’s also unfortunate that on the 25/10/2020 a lifeless body of one identified as Chukwu Osinachi an ex-corp member was found opposite CAN Secretariat suspected to have died as a result of stampede in the process of carting away of the looted property. Similarly a corps of yet to be identified person was also found around TSBS, circumstances of his death not yet known. These lawless acts of the youths necessitated the State government to imposed a 24hrs curfew in Jalingo metropolis and Wukari LGA to enable security operatives carry out their duties without hindrance, the Police Command has since embarked on the enforcement of the curfew to ensure a total restoration of peace and order in the State.
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“The Commissioner of Police uses this medium to warn Criminal minded individuals to desist from all acts of Criminal activities as the Command will not tolerate further breakdown of law and order and violence on the innocent and law abiding citizens in the State and whosoever is caught henceforth will be made to face the full wrath of the law. The general public is hereby called upon to be calm and stay at home for the period of this curfew as the operatives of the Command will do all within its powers to ensure that lives and properties are protected. Meanwhile in the course of the clampdown on the looters about twenty (23) suspects have been arrested, six (6) tricycles, 3 vehicles loaded with the following items, 8 bags of Rice, 39 bags of fertilizer, 9 cartons of indomie, 9 bottles of agrochemical, 3 camp beds and 4 cartons of macroni were intercepted. Meanwhile effort is on to fish-out more of the perpetrators in order to recover more items.
“As part of strategies to prevent further attacks and breakdown of law and order, a joint patrol organized by the Commissioner of Police in collaboration with other sister agencies has been embarked upon, this is aimed at building public confidence and trust on the Police and other agencies. We call on the resident of the State to give us maximum cooperation and to always report suspicious elements around their neighborhood” the statement read in part.
Meanwhile, the Taraba state government on Monday said that the curfew imposed on Jalingo and Wukari is now indefinite as activities of hoodlums in the state have continued.
