The Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Prof. Kaletapwa Farauta, has condemned the Sunday looting of warehouses including that of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) by those she referred to as hoodlums in the state capital, Yola.
The looting saw hundreds of residents break into public and private warehouses storing grains and other commodities and cart them away.
Reacting to the incident on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, she admitted that the government is aware of the sufferings the people are facing, but faulted the looting.
“The government is very mindful of the fact that our people are hungry and our people are suffering. We accept that, but we condemn what has happened because that will not take us forward.
“Those stores and warehouses that have been destroyed, the government is still going to use funds now to repair them. And our youth can channel their energies into positive things instead of doing what they did today,” Prof Farauta argued.
Following Sunday’s looting, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri acted swiftly by imposing a 24-hour curfew on the state.
A statement by his aide said that “the curfew followed the dangerous dimension the activities of hoodlums had assumed across the state capital as they attack people with matches and break into business premises and homes carting away property”.
Fintiri said only those on essential duties with valid identification would be permitted to move around during the period of the curfew.
However, his deputy disclosed that there’s an hourly review of the curfew, saying that by the early hours of Monday, there will be a total review of the situation with information from 21 local government areas and the state capital to take a final decision.
“Of course, we are mindful of the fact that our people are farmers and this is the rainy season. We cannot keep them indoors for too long because we are agrarian by nature,” the deputy governor said.
