Enugu, Delta police ban fireworks, Osun stops carnivals

The Enugu and Delta State Police Commands have warned residents ahead of Yuletide that the ban on the use of fireworks is still in force.

This is just as the Osun State Police Command announced a ban on street carnivals during the period.

The Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Ammani, on Tuesday, directed his men to ensure total enforcement of the ban on the sale and unauthorised use of fireworks in the state.

The command’s spokesman, Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement quoted the commissioner as explaining that the ban was part of measures aimed at ensuring public security and safety in the state during the festive period.

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The statement partly read, “CP Ammani has restated that the ban on the sale and unauthorised use of fireworks, otherwise known as ‘knockout’ or ‘banger’ in the state subsists.

“All Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers and Heads of Tactical Units of the Command are hereby ordered to ensure the fortification of security in all parts of the state and the full enforcement of the ban on fireworks, to avoid criminal elements using them as a decoy to perfect their criminal activities this Yuletide.”

The Delta State Commissioner of Police, Ari Ali, also said, in a press statement issued on Tuesday, that the prohibition order on the use of fireworks would be strictly enforced across the state.

Consequently, the CP “advised parents and guardians to guide their children and wards to desist from using them.

“Sellers of such goods are equally warned to withdraw from the sales of these products as anyone arrested will be prosecuted.”

Meanwhile, the Osun State Police Command announced a ban on street carnivals on Tuesday to prevent a breakdown of law and order during the holiday period.

The command noted that it had intelligence which indicated that miscreants, under the guise of organising street carnivals, planned to cause mayhem in the state.

The command’s spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, in a statement obtained in Osogbo on Tuesday, warned that the police would not tolerate street carnival under whatever guise.

Opalola advised organisers of such events to hire halls or use gated compounds while having their celebrations.

“The Osun Police Command, in its efforts to guarantee peaceful Christmas and New Year celebrations in the state, is using this medium to advise members of the public, especially the youths, that annual street carnivals are prohibited for this period,” he said.