The police have intensified their crackdown on criminal elements fueling unrest in Benue State, with the arrest of suspected arms traffickers believed to be behind the recent spate of killings in the North-Central region.
Operatives of the Force Intelligence Response Team stormed a forest along the Nasarawa–Benue border, engaging a suspected armed group in a shootout. The raid, carried out at the Kardako-Yelwata axis, forced the suspects to flee with gunshot wounds. Two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) were recovered from the scene.
The operation extended to the Lafia–Makurdi expressway, where officers apprehended a 25-year-old suspect, Abubakar Isah, allegedly caught with three AK-47 rifles and 1,002 rounds of live ammunition. Police investigations linked the arms to Jacob Adikwu, a notorious dealer based in Abinsi, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.
The cache, according to sources, was intended for Dan Hassan, a wanted gang leader said to be responsible for coordinated attacks across Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger, and Kwara States.
Another suspect, Ibrahim, popularly known as “Chelsea,” reportedly confessed to facilitating a ₦6.5 million transaction to Adikwu for the arms and a customized vehicle designed to conceal the weapons during transportation.
A follow-up sting operation led to Adikwu’s arrest in Abinsi, where additional weapons — including three AK-47 rifles, a rocket launcher, and 1,220 rounds of ammunition — were recovered.
Reacting to the development, Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, hailed the operatives’ bravery and reaffirmed the force’s resolve to hunt down those arming criminals. He pledged that no part of the country would serve as a haven for those promoting violence, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s directive to restore peace to troubled areas.
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