The Niger State Police Command apprehended Aisha Jibrin, a 57-year-old woman, for instigating a violent protest against the surge in food prices in Minna Minneapolis on Monday.
In a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, PRO, Wasiu Abiodun, the command explained that the protest led to significant road obstruction on the highway, impeding the access of motorists, travelers, and other road users to attend to their lawful activities.
It is worth noting that the group, in substantial numbers, organized themselves and obstructed the Minna-Bida road and Kpakungu Roundabout on Monday to express their displeasure over the rise in the cost of food items.
According to him, ” The Command immediately drafted Police patrol teams led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations DCP Shehu Umar Didango to the scene, and after much persuasion by the Police, the protesters deliberately refused to clear the road for public use”
” His Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Niger State Com. Yakubu Garba equally availed himself at the scene and addressed the group, yet they turned deaf ears and chose to be violent”.
However, he disclosed that the Police adopted minimum force to disperse the protesters who turned violent by attacking the Police with dangerous weapons such as stones, bottles, sticks, cutlasses and damaged Police patrol vehicles and parts of the Kpakungu Division roof.
“In the course of this, the Police arrested the initiator of the protest one Aisha Jibrin 30yrs, Fatima Aliyu 57yrs, Fatima Isyaku 43yrs all of Soje ‘A’ of Kpakungu area of Minna and 22 other miscreants”
Items recovered from them include a bench and a stick used as barricade, three knives, one scissors, one cutlass, one saw blade, one iron pipe, four other sticks, two wraps of Indian hemp, charms among others.
Abiodun explained that during interrogation, the said Aisha claimed that she was not aware that her action was illegal by mobilizing over one hundred women and miscreants to block the highway for a violent protest.
The PRO further stated that she (Aisha) claimed further that she informed one youth leader Hassan in the area, who promised to inform the Police of their plan to protest, but did not do so.
Meanwhile, all suspects were taken to SCID Minna for investigation and they will be charged to court for prosecution, as effort is ongoing to arrest other identified members of the violent protest
