The Police were battling at the weekend across the land to rein in herdsmen and bandits who unleashed mayhem on communities.
Some arrests were made in Adamawa where hoodlums attacked commercial tricycle operators shortly after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri visited the criminal’s hideouts.
In Benue State, residents of Gbagir community in Zaki Biam, Ukum Local Government Area took to the streets on a peaceful protest against rising insecurity.
Also on Sunday, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo urged governors in the five Southeast states to take proactive measures in protecting the people.
Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s call came on a day the police rescued some women passengers who were abducted in Enugu by suspected herdsmen, after ambushing a commercial bus by which many were travelling.
In Zamfara State, the police confirmed the killing of 34 persons by bandits in Tungar Kafau and Gidan Wawa, Shinkafi Local Government Area.
To forestall further killings, the state command, in collaboration with other security agencies, redeployed men in the flashpoints.
A statement in Gusau by the Zamfara State Police Command’s spokesman, Muhammad Shehu, a Superintendent of Police, confirmed the measures taken by the police.
It said that the Commissioner of Police, Usman Nagogo, was in the delegation led by Deputy Governor Mahdi Aliyu to the villages.
The statement quoted the police chief as directing security personnel deployed in the area to sustain the ongoing manhunt for the perpetrators of the bloody violence.
The commissioner urged residents to always give the police credible information on strange and suspicious characters within their neighbourhood.
The protests by Gbagir residents followed the rising wave of kidnapping and killings in the Benue North Senatorial District.
It was learnt that criminals had been raping, robbing and killing in the community for four years.
They allegedly murdered a 47-year-old woman, Mrs. Rita Arinze, a trader who was allegedly abducted by gunmen on May 30 after alighting from a commercial vehicle at about 5:30pm.
Her husband, Jerome Arinze, said that the abductors contacted him on phone and demanded N10 million.
Jerome, who was in tears while narrating the story, said he offered N100, 000 but that the kidnappers switched off their line.
According to him, he got a call on June 4 that the body of his wife had been found on Ugba-Zakibiam Road.
Jerome said he rushed to the scene and found the remains of his wife by the road side. He urged security agencies to fish out her killers.
Marching and waving green leaves, the protesters called on community elders to intervene in the worsening security situation.
A rights’ lawyer, Emmanuel Nda Tsobaza, urged Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu to set up a special squad to fight robbery and kidnapping in Ukum and other parts of Benue.
In a letter to the IG, Tsobaza noted that business and commercial activities had been crippled because of insecurity triggered by security scare.
The activist also urged the police to investigate the abduction and killing of Mrs. Arinze.
The state police command has deployed men of the anti-kidnapping squad code-named Operation Puff Adder to fish out the perpetrators.
The Adamawa State Police Command arrested nine youths, identified as members of a group called Shilla Boys, for allegedly attacking a tricycle operator.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Sulaiman Yahaya told our correspondent that the attack was perpetrated shortly after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri visited the major hideouts of the boys to fashion out ways of tackling them.
The hideout is in Yola, the state capital, which residents now call Sambisa, in view of its use by the Shilla Boys.
The PPRO said five of the nine suspects were arrested last week when they launched attacks shortly after the governor’s visit to “Sambisa”.
The other four, Yahaya said, were arrested in subsequent days.
He said: “We arrested five on the 12th of this month and investigations have led us to four others. The first five were rounded up when they went on the rampage immediately after a visit to one of their hideouts by the governor who went there with service commanders to inspect the place and map out strategy against the group.
“Few minutes after the governor’s convoy left, the boys, armed themselves with cutlasses, attacked a Keke NAPEP rider and inflicted cuts on him. They were immediately arrested and brought to the CID.
“Revelations by the first five arrested that day implicated four others who were subsequently picked up. They will all be charged to court when we conclude investigations on them.”
The PPRO said the police command was concerned over the activities of the Shilla Boys, and that the Commissioner of Police, Audu Madaki, developed new strategies when he assumed duty, adding that progress was being made with support from the state government.
Yahaya said: “We have been arresting these radical Shilla Boys day in day out. The last nine we arrested are with the state CID. We will take them to court as soon as investigation is over.
“The command is currently prosecuting more than 300 of the Shilla Boys from earlier arrests over recent acts of criminality. We have in recent weeks and months arrested a large number and we are prosecuting them. Over 300 of them were charged to court. They are mostly in detention in various prisons, awaiting trial.”
No fewer than six women passengers of a commercial bus were allegedly raped by some gunmen suspected to be herdsmen who ambushed the bus at Ugbawka Nkanu East Local Government of Enugu State.
The bandits reportedly blocked the popular Science School end of the Agbani-Ugbawka highway, deflated the bus tyres with gunshots and held all passengers to ransom at gun point.
After robbing and raping the women, dispossessing them of their valuables, the suspected herdsmen jumped into the bush, dragging three of the girls with them.
The Enugu Police Command immediately swung into action and rescued the girls.
In a statement by the command’s spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, said investigations had been launched into the incident.
According to him, on the directives of the Commissioner of Police, Sulaiman Balarabe, the police raced to the scene, combed the bush and found the victims abandoned by the hoodlums.
He said no injury was sustained by the victims who have since been reunited with their families.
The Nkanu Youth Council, a socio-political organisation, condemned the attack, describing it as a slap on their face.
The Nation
