A team of riot policemen from Abuja have arrested some worshippers at a mosque in Mararaba, Nasarawa State, and raided neighbouring homes, arresting more people for reasons not made known to relations of those taken.Witnesses and residents of the area said the incident happened at about 2.30am on November 29 at Abba Gana Street, Kabayi area of Aso Pada in Mararaba.Those arrested in the mosque included Malam Abba Gana, Bala Mohammed, Abdullahi Musa, Ahmad Sarki, Abdullatif Sarki and Mustapha Hassan. Two non-Muslims, Chukwuemeka Ezekwile and Chukwuka Khalifa, were among those taken during raid in the neighbouring homes, residents said.The residents alleged that the 16 people arrested were taken to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) detention centre in Abuja.But FCT police spokesman Moshood Jimoh said the arrests were not carried out by the FCT police command and he was not aware of any such operation. SARS is under the FCT police command.A resident, Malam Abdullahi Mohammed, told Daily Trust that at about 2.30am that morning he heard some commotion and crying by some people whom he understood were being taken away. About 15 minutes later, policemen gained entrance into the compound he lives in, banging on the doors of residents.'As they wanted to enter my room, I asked whether they had such right. They asked me to come out and asked me to sit in their midst. They collected my ID card and discovered I was a staff of Airtel. They entered my room and searched everywhere; they did not even tell me what they wanted,' he said.Another resident said he went to see his son at the SARS office in Garki, Abuja, and that he was there when the police decided that the non-Muslims among the arrested people should be released while Inspector-General of Police Hafiz Ringim would come and interview the others personally.Another resident, Muhammad Adamu, whose son was also arrested, said during his visit on Tuesday to the SARS office, one of the policemen called him a Boko Haram member.One of Abba Gana's sons said the security operatives beat up his father and other people arrested.'They took away a Toyota Landcruiser, the key of another Toyota Camry, a drawer measuring 2ft x1ft and its contents. They collected six mobile phones (three from Abba Gana, two each from his two wives and one from one of his sons); they also arrested one Islamic teacher and security-man, the younger brother of the elder wife and destroyed key of the security room to search the place. They proceeded to cleric's building under construction and picked two people watching over containers of paints,' he said.The boy said he was also being arrested when the leader of the police team ordered them to 'release the children.'When our reporters visited the palace of the traditional head of the Hausa community and chairman of Jama'atul Nasril Islam (JNI), Mararaba Branch, Alhaji Muhammad Damaturu, his secretary Nasiru Usman said some leaders of the community came to the palace to lodge a protest and that the council frowned at the arrests.He said a petition has been forwarded to the Inspector General of Police and copied to other relevant persons over the incident.Hajia Hawakulu Mustafa, the wife of Hassan Mustafa, a bus driver, told our reporters that it was when her husband went to check what was amiss as the noises were close to where he parked the bus that he was arrested in underwear. 'I was the one that later went in to give clothes to my husband before he was taken away and I have not seen him since then,' she said.A brother of one of those arrested claimed that he paid N1,500 twice before being allowed to see his brother and that he was asked to pay N50,000 for the release of his brother on bail.
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