The Commissioner of Police, in charge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, CP Babaji Sunday, has banned the sale and use of all kinds of fireworks, fire-crackers, knockouts, among others in the FCT.
The CP in a press statement by the Police Publoc Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Josephine Adeh, Monday in Abuja, noted that the order was part of proactive moves by the police to sustain the relative peace in the FCT, and adequately contain crimes and criminality, particularly ones peculiar to the end of the year and the Christmas and New Year festivities.
The CP further noted that the use of knockouts, others, aside constituting nuisance and disturbance of public peace, is also capable of causing unnecessary fear and apprehension and other dangers associated to its usage in the harmattan period.
“This is in additional to the possibility of providing an escape space for criminals after the commission of a crime.
“To this end, the CP has ordered all Divisional Police Officers and Heads of Police Units within the FCT to carry out due enforcement of the ban and ensure that anyone who violates the order is arrested and brought to book.
“The CP equally called on parents and guardians to impress on their children and wards to desist from the sales and use of fireworks, fire crackers, knockouts, others as the ban is in the best interest of all.
“He warned persons trading in this banned items to seek alternative but legal ventures noting that in the FCT, it will not be business as usual,” The statement read in part.
According to the spokesperson, “The CP, while enjoining the good people of FCT to be more vigilant and security conscious and promptly report any suspicious activity within their locality via the commands emergency numbers 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653, and 08028940883, also reassured that the police remained committed to the safety, security and peaceful co-existence of all residents in the nation’s capital.”