…Their protest unlawful – Police
From: Timothy Olanrewaju, Maiduguri
The police in Borno State have arrested some displaced persons over a peaceful protest, at the weekend, to return to their liberated communities.
Some IDPs believe to be from Bama, a liberated town in the central part of Borno State, but taking refuge at Dalori camp, on Sunday, staged a peaceful demonstration, urging the authority to return them to their communities.
The protest said to have been organised by the Bama Initiative for Human Development protested their continuous stay at the IDPs camp. They called on the authority to return them home.
Commissioner of Police, Borno State Command, Damian Chukwu, confirmed the arrest. He said the protesters failed to act lawfully even after they have been pacify to shelve their protest.
“We’ve arrested about 100 of them for unlawful assembly. They staged a protest, asking government to return them to their communities and the police appeal to them to go back to their camp with a promise to discuss the issue and find solution to it but they went back to do another protest again. They gathered unlawfully with placard shouting,” the CP told The Sun.
He said the act could raise tension in a state that was trying to come out OF security challenge. He said the IDPs have the right to protest under freedom of expression but insisted it must be done with police permmision.
He disclosed has commenced investigation and would charge those found culpable to court.
There are over 20,000 displaced persons from Bama taking refuge in various IDPs camp in Maiduguri. Bama, the second largest town in Borno, was liberated from Boko Haram by the military early 2015 almost a year after it was captured by the insurgents.