Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State has given 12 hours to looters to return their loot or houses containing such goods will be demolished.
The governor, who made a broadcast Tuesday evening amid a 24-hour curfew he imposed earlier on Sunday following looting of government and private warehouses by thugs who went wild in the guise of End SARS protests, said the havoc done by the thugs especially mass looting around the state capital, Yola, was horrendous.
He said, “I am giving a 12 hour ultimatum (6:00 pm – 6:00 am) to the hoodlums to return whatever they looted from public and private warehouses and homes to the nearest Police Station and traditional rulers’ houses (from the ward to the district level), whichever is nearest to them.
“This ultimatum will expire at 6:00 am on Wednesday, 28th – October, 2020, after which I will sign an Executive Order for a house-to-house search to commence by 7:00 am of the same day.
“Part of the provision of the order is a sanction that will attract withdrawal of C of O and if necessary, demolition of every house that habours any of the stolen properties. Law abiding citizens should cooperate with the security agencies to ensure this is enforced to the letter.”
He said he had received briefings of what had happened since Sunday morning, and listed places that were affected.
“With shock, we received the report of attacks on the Customs Office, Road Safety, Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NEMA office, COVID-19 Isolation Centre at Kofare, North East Commodity Association (NECAS) Kofare, public and private warehouses in Demsawo, Nyako Quarters, opposite airport, behind Zenith Bank, Bakin Kogi, Mayanka, Upper Benue, AADP, LEA, Yola South, Red Cross opposite FMC, Aliyu Mustafa College; Dr. Belel’s workshop, private farms, etc,” Fintiri said.
He reiterated that although his government was still taking stock, to the best of his knowledge so far, the extent of loot and damages to properties of government and private entities is immense.
“The loss is materially colossal but more enormous is the loss of moral values driven by greedy criminal urge to steal. We condemn in strong terms the outright demonstration of brigandage as barbaric, criminal and a recipe for anarchy,” the governor said.
He apologized to all Adamawa people for the acts of the hoodlums, saying, “As a Government, we take full responsibility for all the hardship attendant upon by the curfew era on decent and hardworking citizens.
“The other two categories of people I greatly owe apologies to are the vulnerable especially at the 21 LGAs who would have been the beneficiaries of the looted goods but were denied because of the activities of the hoodlums; and the owners of the private warehouses, shops and properties looted. I truly feel your pain.”
He assured that the reprieve which the state had had from the hoodlums since Monday afternoon would be sustained.
He said, “As a responsible government, we cannot fold our hands while criminals are trying to take over our society. We are working round the clock to ensure that peace is returned to our society. Working with the security agencies, we have activated the necessary instrument for a return to normalcy and arrest of the looters.”
He disclosed that so far 155 suspects are in police custody while nine Vehicles and 12 tricycles loaded with loot have also been impounded.
