The Police Command in Katsina State has detained 50 suspected miscreants in connection with the protests over economic hardships in Nigeria, which commenced throughout the country yesterday (August 1).
The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Abubakar Aliyu, who disclosed this to newsmen yesterday in Katsina, however, said no loss of life was recorded during the protests in the State.
“The state is now relatively calm as the protests have been contained,” he said, adding that all necessary security arrangements for the protests have been reinforced in the State.
Newsmen who monitored the situation in Katsina observed that some youths had vandalised some public properties, including street lights, taking away cables, solar panels and poles, in the process.
They also destroyed drainages, culverts and removed rods, among others, it was further observed.
Similarly, the Command in Kaduna State disclosed it says it has detained 25 suspected hoodlums as a fallout of the nationwide protests that commenced on Thursday (yesterday, August 1).
The command, therefore, vowed to be tougher on the miscreants who would hijack the procession, vandalise government, private and police assets in the name of protests.
In a statement issued yesterday in Kaduna, Command spokesman, ASP Mansir Hassan said, “this followed the infamous sudden outbreak of violence that characterised the nationwide protests in Kaduna.”
“The police have detained no fewer than 25 miscreants involved in violent conducts occasioned by mischief in the state,” Hassan said, explaining that as earlier envisaged, the somewhat peaceful protests had been hijacked by hoodlums who took undue advantage of the so-called faceless sponsors and unleashed their planned mayhem on the state.
Hassan said the unruly miscreants attempted to gain access into the Kaduna State Government House before they were resisted by the security personnel at the said location, adding that they injured two police men and broke the glasses of a Police Armoured Personnel Carrier stationed at the entrance of the government house.
“They subsequently attacked the office and staff of the Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Agency (KASTLEA) and torched the former along with adjoining other state government offices,” he stressed, disclosing that the 25 hoodlums were detained with exhibits indicating their violent tendencies.
“These exhibits included scissors, jack knives and even live 7.62 X 39mm ammunition recovered from one Hassan Ibrahim of Rigasa area Kaduna,” Hassan said.
“Similarly, one suspect was arrested dressed in a Police camouflage uniform for deception.”
Hassan said in spite of the Inspector General of Police’s advice to groups intending to protest to liaise with the Commissioners of Police of the States, where they wished to protest, “in order to fashion out modalities for a peaceful protests, no individual or group has up till this very moment notified the Kaduna Police Command of its intention to protest in the state.”
”In the absence of such a notice, it will be presumed that there’s none and any attempt to protest violently, those persons or groups will be termed miscreants and will be treated as such,“ Hassan warned.
According to him, the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State, Mr Audu Ali, has called on all parents and guardians to restrain their wards from indulging in the disturbance of public peace.
