As some protesters under the guise of EndSARS allegedly launched an attack on a police station in Ekiti State on Saturday, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babatunde Mobayo, has warned against such an act.
He said the rights of the people should not be trampled upon during any peaceful mass action.
The police Commissioner said the attack on the police station at Ikere Ekiti was not only condemnable but barbaric.
The police boss insisted that whether the attack was carried out by EndSARS protesters, hijackers or hoodlums, violent protest won’t be tolerated in Ekiti, because it infringes on the rights of the citizens.
Some protesters branded as “hoodlums” by the police, had on Saturday, attacked the Ikere Divisional Police Station and damaged the building, and four vehicles parked within the premises of the station.
Describing the action as an onslaught on the police, Mobayo restated that no property belonging to individuals, corporate body, or government should be attacked during any protest perceived to be peaceful, legal, and masses-oriented.
Mobayo, in a statement by the Command’s spokesperson, ASP Sunday Abutu, on Sunday, said: “On Saturday, 17th October 2020, a group of hoodlums in their large numbers, in the name of protest, went wild and attacked Ikere Area Command as well as Ikere Divisional Police Headquarters, destroying items worth millions of naira in the process.
“Part of the items destroyed were: the Area Command and the Divisional Headquarters’ Fences/Gates, Divisional Headquarters’ Signposts, about 40 window glasses, four vehicles, the roof of a building close to the station, among others.
“The Ekiti state Commissioner of Police, however, condemns such attack on Police properties and innocent citizens, noting that the attack could be described as barbaric, wicked and uncalled for”.
The CP enjoined those who wish to protest to be more organized in a way that should not affect the rights of other members of the Society, by being peaceful and prevent miscreants from hijacking such peaceful protest.
The Commissioner advised parents, guardians, and all stakeholders to warn their wards to refrain from engaging in any form of violent protest or act that could aggravate insecurity in the land.
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