Niger State Police Command has arrested 17 persons for allegedly inciting youths in the state to hold a protest.
The State Commissioner of Police, Adamu Usman on Tuesday disclosed the arrests in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Wasiu Abiodun.
The commissioner said the arrest followed suspected plan by some persons to embark on a protest despite the ban on public demonstrations by the state government in the wake of the violence that has trailed the #EndSARS protest across the country.
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Usman who disclosed that most of those arrested were not from the state said the suspects are currently under investigation and will be charged to court for prosecution thereafter.
The Police Boss urged parents and guardians to prevail on their wards and subjects to remain peaceful and shun any act of lawlessness.
According to him, “the Command is prepared to provide adequate security and peaceful coexistence in the State.”
The commissioner commended youths in the state “for displaying high level of responsibility, calmness, perseverance and restraint in the face of threats and calls from different quarters with deliberate falsehood and misinformation through the social media in the face of unwarranted provocation from other divisive elements, hiding under the umbrella of #EndSARS protest in the country.”
He also praised the state government, traditional institutions, religious leaders, youth leaders and members of the press “for their support and cooperation with the police and other security agencies in the state.”