The Adamawa State Police Command has arrested 184 people over #EndSARS looting and 54 others for allegedly violating the curfew that followed it, bringing the total number of arrests to 238.
The Command has also recovered a number of the items looted by the thugs, including 35 tractors, 12 tricycles, nine other vehicles, 742 bags of fertilizer, 18 bags of maize, 95 plastic chairs, eight pairs of Nigeria Customs Service uniform, among others.
Thugs, imitating the #EndSARS looting in a couple of other states across the country, went haywire on Sunday through Monday, breaking into government and private warehouses and stores and moving out all that they could find.
The looting orgy continued with the same intensity even after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri declared a 24- hour curfew which took effect from Sunday afternoon.
The Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, CP Olugbenga Adeyanju, who presented the suspects and recovered items before newsmen Wednesday, expressed regret that #EndSARS looting should occur in Adamawa.
“We have never had any complaints against SARS in this state; the only problem was with Shila Boys which we have tackled substantially,” the CP said, adding that he saw no reason why the state had to pay such a heavy price to #EndSARS elements.
He added that, in effect, the people who perpetuated looting in the name of #EndSARS were criminals taking unfair advantage of the SARS controversy.
“We are dealing with hoodlums; that’s just it because if you say you are looking for palliatives as #EmdSARS protesters, you don’t go to FRSC, you don’t go to Red Cross, you don’t go to UNICEF and you don’t go to private warehouses as Covid-19 palliatives are not kept in such places,” he said.
He assured, however, that the calm which has returned to the state due largely to patrols by the police and sister security agencies would be sustained, but advised residents to remain indoors in obedience to the 24-hour curfew currently in place.
Meanwhile, an ultimatum handed by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri to looters to return their loot or risk sanctions has been yielding results.
The governor had Tuesday evening announced a plan to do a house-house search for looted goods and threatened to demolish houses in which such goods are found if the looters fail to return them by Wednesday morning.
Some residents of Yola woke up Wednesday morning to behold items placed at strategic public places and by later in the morning, security agents were seen removing such items.
And up to the time newsmen left the police headquarters in Yola early Wednesday afternoon, vehicles were coming into the headquarters from different parts of the state loaded with such items.