Benue killing: Police arrest 18 suspects, recover weapons

Eighteen suspects alleged to be causing problems in Benue State in recent weeks have been arrested in a joint operation between the police, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military.

The operatives recovered sophisticated weapons from the suspects while others have been declared wanted.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris, disclosed this at a meet­ing on Wednesday with se­nior police officers including Deputy Inspectors-General of Police (DIGs), Assistant Inspectors-General of Police (AIGs) and command/com­missioners of police (CPs) in Abuja.

He charged the commis­sioners of the police to work in synergy with other secu­rity agencies for the safety of Nigerians.

Idris commended the police for the successes re­corded in their operations in Benue, Kaduna and other states of the country.

The IGP said: “It is worri­some that a known militant has taken it upon himself to cause havoc in Benue State.On Monday, a joint opera­tion was conducted including the military and Department of State Services and a lot of weapons were discovered. We got 18 suspects from the area. The main suspect has been declared wanted and we are pursuing him. All his close associates have been ar­rested.

“I believe that in the next few days, we are going to parade some of them so that Nigerians can see the kind of people who are causing crisis in this country,” he said.

While applauding the po­lice hierarchy for their efforts in ensuring the safety of life and property, the IGP reiter­ated that this was made pos­sible due to the synergy and partnership with other sister security agencies. -The Authority