*Dogara’s house attacked, looted
Seriki Adinoyi in Jos
Hoodlums, on Sunday morning defied the 24-hour curfew imposed on Jos by the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as they loitered around the streets of Jos, attacking and vandalizing government and private properties.
THISDAY gathered that among the private properties vandalized was the house of the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, located near Jos University Teaching Hospital at about 10am.
Sources said the hoodlums, in large number, broke into the house, attacked everyone including Dogara’s brother before carting away their loots.
The warehouse of Manufacturer Delivery Services (MDS), an affiliate of United African Company (UAC) located along Murtala Mohammed way, where many multinational companies stocked their goods was also vandalized.
Also attacked by hoodlums was Plateau Agricultural Development Programme (PADP) at Dogon Dutse. Bags of fertilizer and other farm inputs were looted.
They also extended their attack to the warehouses of the National and State Emergency Management Agency (NEMA and SEMA), carting away foodstuff and other items stored therein. The looters, who broke into the buildings in search of palliatives, destroyed properties and carted away some valuables.
They also vandalized the state Secretariat, state water board and other government properties and made away with loots.
But for the intervention of security agents, the hoodlums wanted to bring down the Federal Secretariat. They had gathered in front of the secretariat before they were dispersed.
State Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and an editor with the Nigerian Standard Newspaper, Mr. Paul Jatau, told newsmen that the hoodlums destroyed the building and vehicles belonging to members of staff of the company.
Jatau was however thankful that the staff of the newspaper house escaped with their lives. He said the prompt intervention of the security agencies saved them.
Appealing to the youths for calm, General Overseer of Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International (EBOMI), Prophet Isa El-Buba, urged the youths to desist from looting and destroying public properties. He warned them to refuse to be used as tools by some vested interest to destroy their country.
El Buba also called on the Federal government to work and ensure that normalcy was returned to the country immediately, calling on government to hold a dialogue with the irate youths to end the crisis.
Also, deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Ahmed Idris Wase, has appealed to the youths to be calm over the #EndSARS protests and not to take laws into their hands.
In a statement issued on Sunday morning by his Chief Press Secretary, Umar Mohammed Puma, Wase urged the youths to give peace a chance, saying the Federal and State governments, and the National Assembly will do everything within their powers to ensure that their demands were met.
He said, “The Federal, State government and the National Assembly are doing all that need to be done to ensure justice for the victims of police brutality. Let us therefore cooperate with relevant government agencies that are working day and night to ensure our safety.
“I believe that the Nigerian Police Force has taken note of our agitations. Let us not take our anger against the reckless few on the entire state and the country at large. Let us not destroy our collective heritage while trying to right the wrong of others; two wrongs don’t make right.”
