The Benue State Police Command has announced fresh arrests in connection with the assassination of Prof. Gabriel Saawua Nyityo and his younger brother, Iorngee John Nyityo, saying investigations have extended beyond the principal suspect to other members of the alleged gang.

The Command also dismissed widespread rumours that suspected bandits had mounted roadblocks along the Makurdi-Lafia highway and were targeting Benue State travellers, describing the reports as false and deliberately circulated to cause panic.

The state Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiogbu, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists at the Command headquarters in Makurdi on breakthroughs recorded by the police in recent weeks.

Nwadiogbu said the killings of the professor and his younger brother in Adaka community on July 8 were carefully planned assassinations rather than a robbery attack.

He explained that after receiving the distress call at about 2 a.m., operatives from the ‘D’ Division immediately mobilised to the scene where they recovered the bodies of the two victims.

According to him, the Command immediately placed all divisions and security checkpoints on alert, a move that led to the arrest of the principal suspect, a 23-year-old Abdullahi Usman from Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, at a National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) checkpoint in Lafia about four hours later.

The police commissioner disclosed that the suspect attempted to evade security by dismounting from motorcycles before every checkpoint and walking across before rejoining the rider.

“He felt the NDLEA checkpoint was not manned by policemen and decided to walk across. Unknown to him, the officers had already received information about the incident. They searched him, recovered a phone, and from the phone we established that he was one of the suspects,” Nwadiogbu said.

He added that security agencies in Nasarawa State, including the Department of State Services (DSS), had since intensified investigations, leading to additional arrests.

“They have made more arrests of those who came with him, and they have assured us they will hand them over. We are also determined to identify and arrest those who assisted them within Benue State because there must have been local collaborators,” he stated.

The commissioner further revealed that preliminary investigations suggest that some criminals responsible for attacks in Makurdi often cross into Benue State from neighbouring Nasarawa State before returning after carrying out their operations.

Asked how many more suspects have been arrested precisely, the police commissioner said the arrests were still being made and did not give the exact number.

Reacting to rumours that bandits had blocked the Makurdi-Lafia highway and were attacking Benue State travellers, Nwadiogbu described the claims as deliberate misinformation.

He said police patrol teams immediately swept the entire route after receiving the reports,s but found no evidence of any attack.

“That information was false. It was the handiwork of enemies who wanted to divert our attention and create panic. We patrolled the road from one end to the other. Nothing happened. People travelled freely throughout,” he said.

The police commissioner also dismissed reports that the Inspector-General of Police had ordered the removal of security checkpoints nationwide.

According to him, the directive only targets illegal roadblocks mounted by unauthorised persons and not legitimate security checkpoints operated by security agencies.

“The Inspector-General never ordered the dismantling of police checkpoints. We are only removing illegal roadblocks mounted by individuals or groups who have no authority to stop road users. Security agencies will continue to perform their lawful duties on our highways,” he explained.

Nwadiogbu said the Command recorded several other operational successes between June and July, including the arrest of 10 suspects over the killing of two Fulani leaders after a peace meeting in Ohimini Local Government Area.

He said prompt intervention by police authorities in Benue and Cross River States prevented the incident from escalating into an inter-state communal crisis.

The commissioner also disclosed that police operatives neutralised suspected armed robbers and kidnappers during separate gun battles in Makurdi, Katsina-Ala and Logo LG, as well as recovered four AK-47 rifles, six locally fabricated pistols, 23 rounds of live ammunition, two motorcycles, mobile phones and assorted charms.

He said operatives equally arrested a robbery suspect in Guma Local Government Area and recovered a stolen commercial motorcycle, while 15 suspected criminals were arrested during raids on criminal hideouts in Katsina-Ala, where three bags of substances suspected to be cannabis were recovered.

Nwadiogbu further said five suspected herders were arrested in Guma for allegedly grazing cattle on farmlands, while seven persons were arrested in Naka over the killing of a man during the burial of a youth leader.

The Command also arrested a woman in Ukum Local Government Area for allegedly setting a house ablaze, leading to the death of two children.

On cult-related activities, the police commissioner disclosed that one suspect was arrested following a violent clash between rival cult groups in Makurdi, while 12 suspected cultists were arrested in Gboko during what investigators described as an annual cult gathering.

“These breakthroughs reflect our determination to deny criminals any space to operate in Benue State. Security is a shared responsibility, and we urge members of the public to remain vigilant and continue to partner the police,” he said. (THISDAY)

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