Abuja police force says it cannot identify those who attacked Charlie Boy as they were a mob

POLICE authorities have revealed that they have not arrested those behind the recent physical attack on entertainer Charles Oputa popularly known as Charlie Boy because it could not identify those responsible for the assault.

Last week, Charlie Boy organised a protest calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to either return from London and resume office immediately of resign. Called under the auspices of his group OurMumuDonDo, the protest was eventually dispersed by the police with Charley Boy, also known as Area Father, collapsing after inhaling tear gas.

Earlier this week, supporters of President Buhari then attacked Charlie Boy while he staged a walkabout at Wuse Market in Abuja. This attack by angry pro-Buhari supporters led to serious tension within Abuja metropolis and prompted the police to intervene and rescue the ugly situation.

Since the incident, there have been calls for the police to arrest the perpetuators as their violent attack on the entertainer was a blatant breach of public peace and constituted thuggery.  Musa Kimo, the Federal Capital Territory police commissioner, said, however, there was no way the police would have arrested the attackers as they were a mob.

Mr Kimo added: “For Charlie Boy, the police restored normalcy and we were able to rescue him and his people and even prevented the mob from burning his SUV and BMW vehicle. Both vehicles have been returned to him.

 “It was a mob, a serious angry mob and ours was to ensure that there was no breach of peace and in fact we were not even notified about their movement to their meeting point. You know how a market is, who are you going to arrest?"

However, Charlie Boy said that with the attack on him and his group, it was obvious that Nigeria is under siege. He hinted that the youths cannot continue to stay at the corridor waiting for handouts, adding that they must be in the room discussing their future with the leadership of the country.

Charlie Boy added: “I must give special thanks to my colleagues, fellow journalists, who have covered all our proceedings in the most decent manner and I want to say that the responsibility of the media is not about being balanced but seeking the truth and exposing the truth. On behalf of me and my colleagues, l thank you for a job well done.

“It is obvious we are under siege. It’s obvious that our country, through intolerance is falling apart and I’ll like to take this time to acknowledge the people who were hurt yesterday and today, we’ve made our point."

He explained that Nigerian youths do not have a future in this country except they engage, ask questions and are part of the government. Charlie Boy stressed that what happened yesterday shows the ugliness of Nigeria, which is a shame.

However, the  pro-Buhari groups said they were on ground to show solidarity with President Buhari. Led by the Niger Delta youths, the groups were seen chanting solidarity songs with placards with different inscription like Isoko Youths Support Buhari, PDP Stop Anti-Buhari Protest.

Niger Delta youths spokesman Chief Johnny Michael, said: “To me, I believe this is an instigated protest and I can categorically tell you that they are being instigated by the opposition party.”