From: LAYI OLANREWAJU, Ilorin
No fewer than nine youths, mostly secondary school boys, have been arrested for organising India hemp festival in Kwara State.
Daily Sun checks revealed that the arrested persons whose names could not be ascertained at the time of filling this report on Tuesday were “secondary school age”.
A source at Adewole Divisional police station, told Daily Sun that the culprits were rounded up in Aiyetoro ASA Dam area of Ilorin, on Tuesday.
However there were conflicting reports whether they have been charged to court or still with the police.
While a police source said they have been taken to court others said that they have opted to stay in the police custody.
Although, Kwara State Police Commissioner, Lawan Ado, said he was not aware of the development, his Public Relations Officer, Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident.
According to Okasanmi, ” I have just received the report and I cannot confirm the number of those that were arrested. It happened under the jurisdiction of the ‘D’ Division under Adewole but by tomorrow (Wednesday), the issue will be clearer,” he said.
It was gathered that those arrested had circulated posters informing people about the event but rebuffed calls by prominent citizens and organisations to call it off.
Speaking on the development, National President of Ilorin Emirate Descendant Progressive Union ( IEDPU), Alhaji Abdulhamid Adi says “About few days ago, the organisers pasted posters informing that they wanted to hold an Indian hemp festival where they will smoke hemp for a whole day.
“When we heard of it, we wrote them that they should not do such and also informed the police who also wrote to them but they insisted.
” On the said day, they started smoking hemp and the police swung into action and arrested nine of them. Since then, we have been having pressures from high quarters to release them but we refused.
” We later gave them three options which include for them to be handed over to NDLEA for them to be rehabilitated; for them to be locked up with the police and charged to court the following day but they opted for the last option,” Adi disclosed.