Protest: Kwara PDP to Gov Abdulrazaq: Take responsibility for Ilorin looting

The Kwara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the State government should have itself to blame for Friday’s attack on the Ilorin Cargo Terminal where relief materials donated to the State by the Private Sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) were carted away by residents of the State capital.
A statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Tunde Ashaolu, said it was highly unfortunate, tomfoolery and downright insensitive of the State government to have hoarded relief items meant for vulnerable Kwarans, adding that there was no excuse for the government’s action.
The statement read in full:
“As a party, we are utterly shocked and surprised that the Kwara State Government had for months hoarded relief items donated to the State by the Private Sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), and which ought to have been distributed to vulnerable Kwarans.
hungry and angry? This is highly unfortunate, tomfoolery and further exposes the insensitivity of the Governor Abdulrazaq-led administration to the plight of suffering Kwarans.
“Considering the prevailing economic realities, there is no excuse for the State government to have stockpiled that huge relief materials meant for vulnerable Kwarans. The people of Kwara have endured so much suffering and insensitivity under the present APC-led administration and the mass action witnessed on Friday is a clear indication that the people’s patience has been exhausted.
“While we strongly condemn looting of several stores within the metropolis by some rogue residents, we are surprised that despite claims by the State Government that it got intelligence report ahead of the attack, it did absolutely nothing to secure identified flash points and beef up security within the metropolis.
“The Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq-led administration should therefore take responsibility for what happened on Friday in  Ilorin and its attendant consequences including the deaths of innocent poor Kwarans and the looting of several stores in town.
“We urge the State Government to be alive to its responsibility of securing lives and property of Kwarans and residents of the State. We also appeal to the Government to initiate steps to compensate business owners who have suffered huge losses arising from these unfortunate incidents.
“Our party also condemns the use of lethal force and killings of Kwarans by some trigger-happy security officials. We commiserate with the families and loved ones of the deceased and share in the pains and anguish of Kwarans. We also urge probe into the shootings that led to the avoidable deaths.
“As a responsible and peace-loving party, we call on security operatives in the State to handle the current situation with calmness and high level of professionalism, and not react with force to any provocation to avoid further casualties. Residents are also urged to comply with the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government to arrest the situation.”