Looting: Police ‘recover 35 tractors’ in Adamawa, ‘arrest 184 suspects’

Olugbenga Adeyanju, commissioner of police in Adamawa, says 35 tractors have been recovered, while 184 suspects have been arrested over the looting of public and private properties across the state.

Adeyanju disclosed this during a press briefing held at the state’s headquarters of the police command in Yola, on Wednesday.

Aside from the vandalisation of other private and government properties in the state, Sadiq Umar-Daware, chairman of the North East Commodity Associations (NECAS), had said a mob attacked its warehouse in Adamawa and looted 110 tractors, among other items.

Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa, had given a 12-hour ultimatum on Tuesday for the return of looted items to the nearest police station or traditional rulers’ residences.

Fintiri had also warned that the state government will sanction looters by withdrawing the certificates of occupancy and demolishing the properties where such items are found.

According to Adeyanju, the items recovered from the suspects include, 35 motorised tractors, 28 hand tractors, 22 hand tractor hoes, nine vehicles, over 600 bags of fertiliser, and 18 bags of maize.

He added that the police command in collaboration with other security agencies in the state made the arrest and recoveries possible.

“As I speak, we have 238 male and female suspects; 184 apprehended for breaking and looting government, private properties and corporate warehouses, while 54 others were arrested for violating the curfew imposed by the state government,’’ Adeyanju said.

The police commissioner also explained that 12 tricycles and nine vehicles were confiscated while conveying looted properties, adding that the suspects would soon be arraigned.

He called on residents of the state to report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station.

According to NAN, among properties vandalised in the state are the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) warehouse, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) park, the primary health care development agency building, and the office of the national emergency management agency (NEMA).