THE Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has announced the arrest of 26 suspects in connection with the recent killings in Yelwata, Benue State.
Egbetokun disclosed this while addressing a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, June 24.
According to the IGP, the police were on the trail of other persons believed to have been involved in the killings, which led to the death of many residents of the town.
The IGP said the suspects would soon be arraigned in court, including the 22 suspects who were arrested in Jos over the murder of nine persons travelling to a part of the state for a wedding.
The IGP stated that 28 suspects were initially arrested in Yelwata, but two were cleared, as they were merely decoys used to apprehend the 26 suspected masterminds behind the killings.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu visited Benue after the killings and ordered service chiefs and the IGP to arrest those behind the attack.
“Police, I hope your men are on alert to listen to information. How come no arrest has been made? I expect there should be an arrest of those criminals,” Tinubu had charged the IGP during his visit to Benue last Wednesday.
He then faced the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa, and other defence chiefs: “Christopher, you have given much. I watch your comments; you can’t be tired of staying in the bush. Oloyede (Chief of Army Staff) and the Air Marshal, we thank all of you, but we need to keep our ears to the ground. Let’s get those criminals; let’s get them out. DG NIA, DG SSS, retool your information channels and let’s have tangible intelligence so that this will not occur again.”
Following the president’s order, the joint security services in Benue State announced the arrest of suspects linked to the Yelwata attack, which was just one of several attacks in the state.
The Commissioner of Police in Benue State, Emenari Ifeanyi, announced the arrest at a press briefing on Sunday, June 22, but did not disclose the number and identity of the suspects.
The ICIR reports that killings in the state have spanned several years, and more than 200 residents have reportedly died in the onslaughts since the beginning of this month.
While some blame cropper-herders’ conflict for the carnage, others label the assailants as foreign terrorists.
Addressing the state’s present and past leaders, as well as other residents during his visit, Tinubu said that if the state accommodated non-indigenes seeking to live and conduct their businesses, there would be less conflict in the land.
The Tor Tiv, James Ayatse, a professor, who spoke during the visit, dismissed claims that the killings were the products of clashes between herders and farmers.
Ayatse said they were “a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign.
“We do have grave concerns about the misinformation and misrepresentation of the security crisis in Benue State. Your Excellency, it’s not herder-farmers clashes, it’s not communal clashes; it’s not reprisal attacks or skirmishes.
“What we are dealing with here in Benue is a calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land-grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits, which has been going on for decades and is worsening every year,” he stated.
A reporter with the ICIR
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