Olawale Ajimotokan and Udora Orizu in Abuja
Following the violent protest in Abuja on Monday that left seven people dead, after the police clashed with the members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria also known as Shi’ites, the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Adamu Candido, has called on all FCT residents and traditional rulers to be wary of the people they rent their houses to.
Candido gave this order Wednesday at a press conference in Abuja.
He urged the district heads and village chiefs to pass the message to the nooks and crannies of the area council.
“In view of the fact that the protesters and the members of the protest live around the area council, intelligence gathering has reported that some of these people live with us and as citizens of this country, nobody can be denied an abode.
“However, we want to appeal to the residents, particularly our community leaders, in this case being represented by the two traditional institutions of the district heads and village chiefs, to pass this information to nooks and crannies of this area council to be wary of the kind of persons they rent out houses to so that we don’t keep in our homes and communities people we don’t trust,” Candido said.
He also appealed to the traditional rulers to ensure that landlords rent homes to only people of decent character, so as to avoid sheltering persons of questionable character.
Speaking further, the AMAC chairman urged the residents to support government’s institutions with information that will help proffer solutions to the crisis in the city.
“The residents of Abuja municipal council and AMAC marshals should be proactive by ensuring that persons of questionable character are reported to conventional security services.
“Once this is achieved, we believe that it will help put a stop to the situation the country has found itself and citizens and residents of this area council can sleep peacefully.”
Addressing journalists at the conference, the traditional ruler of Etsu Jikwoyi’s palace, His Royal Highness, Bawa Jetta, described security as a collective responsibility.
He assured that he and other leaders will go back to their various communities to keep watch.
“We will talk to our people, it is our duty to make sure that peace reigns in our domains and we are calling on all Nigerians to support this idea,” he said.
