The Borno State Police Command has reported successfully preventing looting and vandalism by hoodlums during the #endbadgovernance protest in Maiduguri on August 1. The protests resulted in four fatalities and 34 injuries, with the police actively working to protect private businesses and public properties.

ASP Nahum Daso, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, detailed the police’s efforts in an interview with Arewa PUNCH. He explained that the police intervened to stop the destruction of critical infrastructure, including the Crossover bridge on Bulumkutu Road, flower vessels along Malakachala round-about to Airport Roundabout, street lights on Lagos Street, and interlock paving from Gwange to UMTH Junction. Additionally, four vehicles belonging to BOTMA in Mechanical Quarters were destroyed, and the office of UNHR was ransacked.

Daso praised the police for thwarting attempts to loot warehouses and protect private vehicles and tricycles. Despite these efforts, he acknowledged that several properties sustained significant damage, and many people abandoned their businesses due to the chaos.

Maiduguri resident Mohamed Abba expressed relief that his shop in the Bulumkutu area was spared from looting, attributing this to the police’s swift action and divine intervention.

However, controversy surrounds the police response. Hadjia Halima Ali, mother of Habilu Ali, one of the injured, has accused the police of indiscriminately shooting at innocent civilians. Ali’s son is recovering at the state specialist hospital, where victims are receiving free medical treatment. Halima Ali claims her son was shot by police, though the state Commissioner of Police, Yusuf Lawal, has suggested that the shootings were carried out by Boko Haram elements.

Governor Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has visited the hospital, providing financial aid of N30,000 to each victim. The investigation into the incident continues, with further clarification on the cause of the injuries and damage expected.