Over 35 tractors of the 110 Tractors, customs fatigue, and vehicles have been recovered following the directive by the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, giving looters 12 hours to return all stolen items.
The items were carted away in the unrest that followed the #EndSARS protest against police brutality.
The Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adeyanju, said 184 out of the suspects were apprehended for breaking in and looting of both government and private warehouses and homes.
While 54 were arrested for violating the curfew put in place by the state government.
The commissioner said “so far 35 tractors, 22 hand tractors, 28 hand tractors hoes, ejection sprayers, 142 bags of fertilizers among, others have been recovered” through the effort of the police and other sister security agencies.
The CP further said that they are still recovering more looted items and apprehending more suspects.
Adeyanju also warned against the purchase of looted items, saying anyone found in possession of looted properties will be arrested and prosecuted.
Earlier, Alhaji Sadiq Umar-Daware, the Chairman, North East Commodity Association (NECAS) said some hoodlums took advantage of the #EndSARS protests, carting away with 110 new tractors and implements from the association’s warehouse in Yola.
Umar-Daware said the hoodlums also broke into the main warehouses of the Rice Farmers Association, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria, also made away with farm inputs.
They also broke into another warehouse filled with fertilisers and carted away several bags and farm implements arranged for distribution to farmers to commence the planting season, he added.
“They not only took tonnes of produce, they also made away with the farm inputs for the dry season farming and the offices of Rice Farmers Association, Maize Farmers Association of Nigeria (MFAN) and the NECAS were also looted and vandalised.
“Files for various programmes were destroyed and they made away with various documents,’’ he said.
According to Alhaji Umar-Daware, NECAS has many tractors because it was incorporated to provide among other services, tractor leasing and mechanisation service for farmers.
“What they took away include tonnes of rice, beans, maize, sorghum and millets, and computers, tables, chairs, office equipment, water dispenser and cash,’’ he said.
Umar-Daware said that complaints were laid to the some security agencies but they did not respond.
“Based on our own findings, they have kept some of the tractors in some people’s garages and when reports were made the response was not favourable,’’ he said.
Umar-Daware described the act as extremely dangerous and inimical to the mechanisation services to farmers and development agriculture aimed at ensuring food security.
He, however, urged people in Adamawa and its environs to be on the lookout for anybody in possession of the tractors and report to NECAS, RIFAN and MFAN officials for recovery and necessary action.
NECAS is involved in agriculture-related services and human capacity development across the North-East region States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
Since its establishment in 2018, the association has expanded its scope of activities, especially through the Federal Government, CBN’s Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), mechanisation drive, partnerships with development agencies.
