Why ban on fireworks is ineffective – Police

The police says there is little they can do to effectively enforce the ban on the use of fireworks and ‘knockouts’ without public support.

The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Don Awunah, said this when the News Agency of Nigeria contacted him to get an update on enforcement of the ban on use of fireworks in Abuja on Friday.

NAN reports that the use of fireworks continued nationwide, despite the prohibition, prompting insinuations that the police were not enforcing the ban.

But Awunah insisted that the ban was being enforced, adding that it seemed ineffective because citizens were not reporting violations to the police.

According to him, the effectiveness of policing generally depends on the willingness of members of the public to assist law enforcement agencies with information on activities of bad eggs in the society.

Awunah, who could not immediately give statistics of arrests so far made in connection with the ban, claimed that the use of fireworks and `knockouts’ had reduced nationwide.

NAN