The Police in Maiduguri , the Borno state capital today clampdown on some sensitive areas considered to be flash points where Newspaper vendors and other people including disabled youths beg for alms around Bolori roundabout and opposite the official residence of the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abdullahi Yuguda.
Our Correspondent gathered that during the said operation, five vendors Babagana Modu, Aliyu Uba, Musa Mushe, Sadiq Bukar including their Chairman Musa Ali were arrested and detained.
Investigation revealed that the Police Boss have on several occasions warned the vendors to vacate the area, but all warning failed on the deaf ears of the vendors who were alleged to be harbouring criminals amongst them to perpetrate evil and snatching vehicles.
Reacting to the arrest, the Chairman Yerwa Newspaper Distributors/Vendors Association, Borno state chapter, Mallam Bunu Umara in an interview with Journalists described the arrest of his members as unlawful and against human rights.
Mallam Umara said, if youth who have no jobs resort to the sales of newspapers in order to earn their living will be arrested on the streets for no just cause, then there is no justification whatsoever, that the whole members of the Association will from Saturday embarked on protest/strike, until its arrested members are released unconditionally.
Confirming the incident in a telephone interview, the Police Commissioner, Mr. Yuguda Abdullahi said, “yes I ordered for their arrest because of the calibre of suspected criminals they associated with at some strategic points in Maiduguri. I have warned them for more than three times, but to no avail, and some of them (vendors) that we arrested have case to answer”. He stated.
Yuguda said, “intelligence report at its disposal revealed that, there were reported cases of shooting of important personalities, snatching of vehicles and other sorts of criminal activities going on in some of the places where vendors and other criminals who mingled together and disguised as destitute to beg for alms are being committed, and that all warnings for them to vacate such places proves abortive, so we have no excuse than to do our job for human safety”.
The CP therefore said, anyone who feels the arrests of the vendors was unlawful should come to his office for a way forward.
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