From Priscilla Ediare, Ado Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command has dispelled reports that armed Fulani bandits had stormed Ado Ekiti, the state capital.
The state’s Commissioner of Police, Tunde Mobayo, said it is important to allay the fear that engulfed residents of the town when the news made the rounds on Wednesday.
A report had trended online on Wednesday that a truck loaded with Hausa-Fulani men, all armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons, had arrived at the Shasha market, along Ikere Road in Ado Ekiti.
Mobayo, in a statement signed by the Command’s spokesman, ASP Sunday Abutu, and made available to reporters on Wednesday night, explained that the report was concocted by purveyors of fake news, and should be disregarded by residents of the town.
The statement, entitled “No Armed Hausa/Fulani Invaded Shasha Market, Ado-Ekiti”, reads:
‘The attention of the Ekiti State Police Command has been drawn to a falsely fabricated story trending on the social media that a truck loaded with Hausa/Fulani, all armed with AK-47 rifles and other weapons, entered Shasha Market, Ado Ekiti today being 09/06/2021.
‘The story is not just false but a lie from the pit of hell, fabricated and spread by the enemies of the Society to cause unnecessary panic.
‘The Command wishes to state explicitly that: Yesterday being Tuesday, 8th June 2021 at about 1700hrs, a truck loaded with bags of beans, dried fish, onions and other food items from Sokoto State heading to Akure, Ondo State, stopped by at Shasha Market junction, Ado Ekiti to offload five bags of fish. In the process, they were accosted by Amotekun personnel and interrogated but were later cleared to offload the bags of fish and proceed with their journey after confirming that nothing incriminating as alleged was found with them.
‘More so, the said truck did not even enter Shasha Market but only stopped at the Junction, and had earlier stopped by at Ifaki-Ekiti where some bags of beans were offloaded.
“The Command hereby implores members of the public especially the good people of Ekiti State to disregard the unfounded rumour as there is no iota of truth in it.
‘The Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, CP TUNDE MOBAYO, while pledging that the Command will continue to work with relevant bodies to ensure the safety of lives and property of the good people of Ekiti State, urges everyone to be calm and avoid any form of apprehension but be security conscious and ensure the timely report of any ugly incident or suspected person(s) found around their neighbourhood to the relevant security operatives.
‘The Commissioner also warns against the formulation and spread of false alarms that are capable of causing apprehension in the Society as anyone found wanting will be made to face the wrath of the law.’
