The FCT Minister of State, Dr Mariya Mahmoud, says the FCT Administration will establish a police post in all its warehouses to prevent miscreants from invading and looting their contents.
Mahmoud stated this in Abuja on Monday, after an assessment visit to the warehouse located at Gwagwa-Tasha, which was looted by residents on Sunday, to ascertain the level of damage.
The minister described the looting as a very unfortunate incident, stressing that the hoodlums carted away all the grains and other foodstuff in the warehouse, including the roofing sheets.
The action, according to her, is beyond hunger; it is criminal.
“We are here due to the unfortunate incident that happened early hours of yesterday (Sunday), where hoodlums attacked this very warehouse and packed everything that is here.
“Not only food items, including the roofing, windows, and even the gates of this place were carted away.
“You can see the level of damage. There is nothing that is left here, including types of machinery that is used for the processing of some of the food in the warehouse.”
She identified the youths in the area as the suspects that may have instigated the looting.
The minister explained that the looting occurred when the FCT Administration was restocking its warehouses with a view to meeting up with the directive of President Bola Tinubu.
She said that Tinubu had directed that palliative be distributed to residents in all the six Area Councils of the FCT.
She assured that the administration would prosecute those behind the ugly incident.
“We distributed the palliative twice and were about to do the third one when the hoodlums attacked the trucks offloading food items in the warehouse, leaving some of the officials injured.
“This is a sign that we need to reinforce the security situation around all our warehouses because you just have to keep food.
“But the way this thing happened is beyond hunger. This is a criminal act. Somebody hungry cannot move out to remove all the roofing that is here,” she said.
Mahmoud further said that the incident may delay the distribution of palliative in the territory.
The Police Command in the FCT had on Sunday announced the arrest of 15 suspects in connection with the looting of the warehouse.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, who announced in a statement, added that two security guards employed by the warehouse management were among the suspects arrested.
Adeh said 26 bags of maize, five motorcycles and some vandalised aluminium roofing sheets were recovered from the suspects.
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