EndSARS Protests: Hoodlums looted 100 AK-47 rifles from Police Stations – IGP committee
At least 100 AK-47 and 2,600 pieces of ammunition were looted by hoodlums across Lagos State during the attack on 37 Police stations in the state. This is according to a committee the Inspector-General of Police, Muhammad Adamu, set up to assess damages the force suffered during #EndSARS crisis.
Chairman of the 10-man damage assessment committee, Yaro Abutu, who disclosed this information in an interview with journalist on Saturday also said that 367 vehicles, 10 armoured personnel carrier, saloon cars and Hilux vans were also burnt during the unrest in the state.
He said that the team was taking the inventory of property destroyed in police facilities across the country.
He said “We are taking a tour around the 17 states where burning of police facilities and killing of police personnel occurred. Since Lagos is the epicentre we decided to come to Lagos first. Thirty seven police stations were attacked in Lagos and about 30 per cent of the police infrastructure in the state has been crippled.”
“Also, a lot of arms and ammunition were carted away. We are still counting and collating. In some police stations, 15 to 30 firearms and a number of ammunition were stolen. So far from our preliminary report, about 100 pieces of AK-47 cannot be accounted for and up to 2,600 pieces of ammunition are missing. This is when criminals become more aggressive whereas police equipment has been crippled. It is pathetic.”
Abutu advised anyone in possession of the arms and ammunition to immediately return such items to a nearby police station or community leaders, adding that already, 3 firearms have been returned on Friday.
“One of them was returned to the Area Commander Ajah, ACP Gbolahan. It was found somewhere and the community alerted him. The police went to pick it. If the community sees any firearm and refuses to report, the weapon will still be used to unleash terror on the population,” he said.
It was learnt that the committee is expected to submit its report to the office of the IGP within three weeks.
