Okon Bassey in Uyo and Daji Sani in Yola
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, and his counterpart in Adamawa State, Hon. Ahmadu Fintiri, have imposed a curfew on their states following attacks on public and private property by hoodlums.
Emmanuel yesterday imposed statewide curfew on the state until further notice.
The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Ini Ememobong, in a statement, said: “The governor has directed a daily-dusk-to-dawn (8 pm – 7 am) curfew should be imposed statewide, till further notice.”
He explained that the curfew is to help check the movement of the remnants of the undesirable elements who created chaos in the state a few days ago.
“It is also the governor’s directive gleaned from the agreement by all youth groups in the state, that all demonstrations and protests be suspended forthwith,” he stated, explaining: “For emphasis, there will be an absolute cessation of movement of persons except those on essential duties, who must bear proper identification.”
He said any person who is apprehended within the period of the curfew would be arrested and prosecuted.
The state government said that the recovery of looted items currently being executed by the police is the result of the cooperation and collaboration of informants from the communities.
“Though normalcy has returned to the entire state, especially, Uyo the capital city after the expiration of the curfew, which was imposed from Thursday night till Saturday morning, there is a prevailing need to sustain the gains of the curfew, by increased strategic surveillance and holistic law enforcement,” he said
Fintiri imposed an indefinite dawn-to-dusk curfew throughout the state following the activities of some hoodlums who broke into government warehouses and carted away COVID-19 palliatives.
The governor, in a broadcast yesterday, noted that the indefinite curfew began from 3 pm yesterday.
He said the curfew had become necessary to avoid any loss of life and to prevent hoodlums from looting and destroying government property.
“In view of this, I have declared and imposed an indefinite dawn-to-dusk curfew throughout the state beginning from 3 pm on Sunday the 25th of October 2020,” he stated.
The governor added that it has become necessary to address the state following the activities of some miscreants who broke into warehouses owned by the state government and carted away COVID-19 palliatives.
“Up till today when the hoodlums broke into the warehouse, our youth have remained calm and have refrained from joining any irate movement that could destabilise the peace Adamawa State has been enjoying so far,” he said.
He commended the youths who, he said, had not allowed themselves to be misled into doing anything untoward since the #EndSARS protest began in some parts of the country.
Fintiri said his government respects the rights of the citizens and it would seek redress, adding that it is not blind to the fact that there is a civilised and responsible way of channelling genuine grievances.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the government has through the State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA) distributed palliative through the 206 wards of the state during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic to cushion the effects of the first and second lockdowns declared in the state,” he said.
