The Benue State Police Command says it has dismantled several bandit camps operating along the Makurdi–Yelewata and Makurdi–Naka roads.

Commissioner of Police, Dr. Ifeanyi Emenari, disclosed this in Makurdi when members of the Forum of Investigative Journalists, led by Tamenor Kwaghzer, paid him a courtesy visit at the Command Headquarters.

He said the presence of the camps had emboldened criminals to launch attacks on motorists and residents, but their destruction had reduced violent incidents in the area.

According to him, the clearance operations brought a sharp decline in cases of robbery and killings along the highways, though occasional attacks were still being recorded from suspected herders who sneak into the state.

“He urged residents to provide credible information to security agencies to help flush out what he described as “enemies of the people.”

On the recent incident along the Makurdi–Naka road, Emenari said it was an attempted armed robbery, not kidnapping as earlier speculated. He blamed the poor state of the road for aiding criminal activity but noted that police operatives repelled the attack during a routine clearance patrol.

Speaking on the killing of four persons in Jato Aka, Kwande Local Government Area, LGA, the Commissioner explained that stray bullets from an exchange between soldiers and hoodlums might have caused the deaths. He said investigations were ongoing while more personnel had been deployed to the area.

The Commissioner stressed that “crime cannot be totally eliminated, but with cooperation between residents and security agencies, peace could be sustained.

“An? as the Ember months approach, we have prioritized the protection of lives and property. It is better to live in peace than in crisis,” he said. (Vanguard)