ALLEGED ILLEGAL DETENTION: Angry youths invade station, smash Police vehicles in Enugu

ALLEGED ILLEGAL DETENTION: Angry youths invade station, smash Police vehicles in Enugu
 November 02, 2015 at 12:56 am
Nsukka—Irate youths of Umabor community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State weekend invaded Nigeria police division in the area, smashing police vehicles over alleged indiscriminate arrests and detention of youths by officers and men of the division.
Vanguard gathered that the youths in their numbers invaded the station when men of the division allegedly swooped on them at a football viewing centre,  at about 8pm.
Investigations revealed that the youths have been complaining of Police intimidation, harassment and mass arrests.
When Vanguard visited the police division, a Police Hilux van  a Mercedes Benz car belonging to the Divisional Crime Officer, and one other vehicle were smashed by the irate youths while broken bottles used to shatter the windows of the station were seen all over the premises.
A source who did not want his name in print at the division  disclosed  that  what the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, DSP Joseph Otuboh did was to seize all handsets of policemen on duty in order not to circulate the information of the attack  on the division.
Meanwhile the youths  in their hundreds later blocked the expressway of Enugu-Markurdi axis of the police station threatened to burn down the division.
Vanguard gathered that attempt by the youths to set the station ablaze was averted by the intervention of Chairman of Nsukka local government council, Hon. Charles Ugwu a native of Umabor community, who  pleaded with the rampaging youths.
The DPO of the station, Otuboh, the DPO of Nsukka Police Urban Division who represented the Area Commander, Nsukka, the council chairman met after which the council boss, Hon. Ugwu offered to undertake all repairs of the damaged properties.
Reacting to the incident, Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ebere Amaraizu, said that no fewer than three persons had been arrested by the state police command in connection with the invasion of the police division.
Giving an account of the incident at Umabor,  DSP Amaraizu noted that a serving Councillor in Nsukka local government council led the irate youths to the police station on that fateful day at about 10pm to attack the division and damaged police vehicles and smashed the windows.
He noted that operatives of the division, acting on a tip off raided an  alleged unlawful gathering of youths suspected to be members of cult group at Umabor at about 8pm in which three suspected cult members from the village were nabbed.
The arrest of the suspected cultists, now helping the police in their investigations did not go down well with the said Councillor who allegedly mobilized youths to the police station where vehicle windscreens and window blinds were destroyed.
“The DPO of the division has been invited by the state commissioner of police for questioning  on the incident while full scale investigations have commenced as manhunt for the councillor is ongoing,” the PPRO said.