3rd November, 2020
By Jethro Ibileke
The Edo Government has announced a review of the curfew imposed on the state following the violence which trailed the EndSARS protests.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Special Adviser to the Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie said with the review which takes effect from Tuesday, November 3, the curfew will now be observed between 10pm and 6am daily.
“The state government has further reviewed the curfew time in the state to commence from 10pm to 6am daily, as against 6pm to 6am. The adjustment will be effective from Tuesday, November 3, 2020,” Osagie said.
He reiterated that the government is fully committed to the security of lives and property and is working with security agencies to ensure peace and order is fully restored in the state.
Meanwhile, Governor Godwin Obaseki has appealed to the officers and men of the state police command to return to the roads.
The governor made the appeal on Monday when he paid a courtesy visit on the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Babatunde Kokumo and top officers of the command.
He urged them not to be demoralised by recent incidents in the state during which some hoodlums hijacked the #EndSARS protests and burned some police stations.
Obaseki who admonished them to rebuild public trust in the police, assured them that the state government will rebuild the razed stations.
“The state government will proceed immediately to rebuild all the destroyed buildings; we have already ordered for patrol vehicles and we hope the delivery will be in the next few weeks. They will be delivered to you.
“We will be responsible for the hospital bills of every police man or woman who has been hurt as a result of the incident of the last few weeks. Above all, we will make sure we give the necessary assistance which we can, within the limits of resources available to us.
“The legitimate #EndSARS protesters which I asked you to give protection are not the ones who attacked the police stations, the Oko prison and the Sapele Road prison. They were not the ones that attacked police and their property.
“The people who did that were criminals and they should be treated as such. I am here today to assure you of our support; criminals cannot take over our state, under whatever guise. They should not intimidate you; they should not allow your morale to be low.
“I want to assure you that the Edo State government will work with you very diligently to re-arrest every inmate that escaped from the correctional facility.
“The underlining word should be trust. The young men and women should trust that you will be there for them and that you will protect them even when some of them are criminals. They will be treated fairly according to the policing code which doesn’t tolerate most of the atrocities that some of your men have committed.
“I assure you that the government of Edo State supports the police. We appreciate those of you working hard and putting your life on the line of service. We can’t pay you enough but we know we should pay you your dues, not in cash but in love, respect and support.”
“I am here to meet with you and assure you that Nigerians still believe in you as no institution is perfect as we need to change and reform many things,” he added.
Earlier, the state police Commissioner, Johnson Kokumo, noted that during the #EndSARS protests, 11 police men and women were injured, seven police stations burnt, 16 police patrol vehicles burnt, five police officers’ personal vehicles burnt and 31 exhibit vehicles burnt and destroyed.
Kokumo said that seven AK-47 rifles were recovered, adding that a total of 126 suspects have so far been arrested from the #EndSARs protests.