The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, CP Tuni Disu, has announced that vandals of manholes and public property will be prosecuted.
He said arrested vandals will be charged with economic sabotage and attempted murder, in addition to existing charges. This decision was made during a security council meeting with the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Monday.
Disu explained that the lenient punishments meted out to vandals in the past have led to a cycle of recycling the same criminals. “Everybody arrested for vandalising public infrastructure will be charged to court. Not only will they be charged to court but they will be charged to court for economic sabotage,” he said. The Police chief noted that the activities of vandals are capable of causing death, especially at night when manholes are removed, making it difficult for drivers to navigate safely.
Disu also disclosed that the security council has resolved to ban the activities of ‘panteka’ (scavengers) for two weeks, pending profiling by security agencies. Scavenging activities have also been banned in the city centre, with scavengers limited to dump sites. “So they will be banned for two weeks, with effect from tomorrow, and we are going to profile them,” he said.
Disu revealed that the FCT Police Command has confiscated 25 operational vehicles used by ‘One Chance’ kidnappers.
“We have succeeded in removing 25 of their operational vehicles from circulation… We are going to embark on the same strategy that we deployed last year that yielded successes for us,” he said.
