The Police Command in Borno on Thursday denied carrying out mass arrest of newspaper vendors in Maiduguri.

The state's Chapter of the Newspapers Vendors' Association had last week accused the police of conducting mass arrest of its members in the state's capital.

However, the Commissioner of Police in the state, Alhaji Yuguda Abdullahi, said the allegation was not true. Abdullahi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri that the police would not join issues with the association.

He, however, admitted that the police arrested a few vendors found to be operating in dark spots. "The police is a nuetral body trying to protect lives and properties of ordinary citizens.

"We actually arrested a few vendors operating in some dark spots in Maiduguri for questioning," Abdullahi said. He said the action was taken to prevent unlawful acts in the areas.

"We discovered that some hoodlums were taking advantages of the vendors by snatching handsets and cars in those places.

"We asked them to leave the spots but they refused," Abdullahi said.