COVID-19 Lockdown: IG-P reads riot act to criminals attacking residents

The Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Adamu, has warned criminals against attacking law abiding citizens under the guise of Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

He read the riot acts against the criminals attacking residents, especially in Ogun and Lagos States, as a result of the stay-at-home-order by the Federal Government.

Adamu who renewed the riot before the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Tuesday in Abuja, warned that such dastard act against residents would no longer be tolerated.

The IG-P warned culprits to desist from such criminality, saying “I hereby sound a note of warning to criminals going from place to place to desist from doing such.”

It was reported that some residents of Lagos and Ogun had cried out over the way hoodlums were attacking them and dispossessing them of their valuables over the lockdown.

Adamu said he had ordered the Commissioners of Police in Lagos, FCT and Ogun states not to allow criminals to take the opportunity of the lockdown to perpetrate their heinous crime against innocent residents.

He called on the citizenry to report any crime to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in such states, adding that PPRO numbers across the country would soon be released to the public so they can cll whenever in distress.

He said that the Nigerian Police had also deployed its personnel to banks, residential areas and other public areas considered important due to complaints received from the public, especially in Lagos and Ogun states.

According to him, we have deployed an intervention force to Lagos and Ogun states led by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the area.

He however urged Police personnel deployed to these affected states to adhere strictly to the right of the citizens, adding that the police had also embarked on sensitisation to educate the public on the need to obey the lockdown order.

The IG-P said the police would continue to provide escort for health workers and other essential workers to curtail COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that diplomats will also enjoy such privilege.