20th October, 2020
By Jethro Ibileke
Four hoodlums who took advantage of the ongoing nationwide protest to break into shops within the main gates of the University of Binin (UNIBEN), were on Tuesday apprehended by members of the #EndSARS protesters.
It was gathered that the hoodlums were in the process of carting away the goods from the stores when they were apprehended by the protesters, who immediately handed them over to over to operatives of Ugbowo police division, located at nearby UBTH gate.
An eyewitness told our correspondent that officers at the station rejected the suspects, saying that they were not permitted to arrest or detain any suspect in their cell since Monday’s violent protest in Benin, during which two police stations were burnt and two correctional centers broken into.
They, however, advised the protesters to take the suspects along with the recovered stolen items to the state police headquarters.
Meanwhile, a police operative at the Ugbowo police division who spoke on condition of anonymity, told journalists that some hoodlums had earlier threatened to burn down the station.
He said “some hoodlums had earlier stormed the station, demanding to know if any suspect was detained in the cell. They threaten to set the station on fire.”