The Benue State Police Command said it has recovered three AK-47 rifles, dismantled two illegal firearm manufacturing factories, and arrested several suspected criminals in a series of operations across the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, disclosed the operation on Friday during a press briefing at the Command’s headquarters in Makurdi, saying it was a “major breakthrough in the fight against crime.”
He said operatives arrested a 20-year-old suspected gunrunner, Joro Jakata, in Guma local government area with 115 rounds of live 7.62mm AK-47 ammunition, while intelligence-led operations in Kwande dismantled two illegal arms factories and led to the recovery of two locally fabricated AK-47 rifles, five English pistols and firearm-making equipment.
He said investigations into the attack on Efeyi Ugboju community revealed that the assailants rustled about 20 cattle before killing 13 residents, adding that police later neutralised two suspects during a gun battle and recovered one AK-47 rifle with 15 rounds of live ammunition.
The police boss further announced the arrest of six suspected armed robbers linked to the murder of a trader in Buruku, alongside the arrest of cattle rustlers, homicide suspects, child trafficking suspects and members of a suspected fraud syndicate operating across Benue and Kogi states.
He noted that the Command also foiled a staged kidnapping involving a female student and was treating the reported disappearance of seminarian Ochai Kevin, 39, as a missing person’s case pending the outcome of investigations.
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