The Benue State Commissioner of Police, Cletus Nwadiaogbu, has vowed to dismantle all bandits’ camps in the state especially Ohimini and Otukpo local government areas of the state recently witnessed attacks by the suspected armed herdsmen.
The commissioner led a team of tactical operatives on a clearance operation to Ankpechi, Ogelewo and Ondo-Ugboju communities.
The operation also extended to Idekpa forest, identified as one of the major hideouts where the attackers were believed to be hibernating before launching attacks on nearby communities.
Speaking during the operation, Nwadiaogbu said the Command is determined to locate and dismantle criminal camps in the area.
“We are here at Idekpa forest, another dangerous forest where the bandits are hibernating. Though it is not possible to locate the actual spot, information at our disposal indicates that most times the bandits make incursions onto the road, carry out their activities and return to the forest again,” he said.
According to him, although the exact location of the camp could not be identified during the day’s operation, the police will return with a better strategy.
“But since it was not possible today, we are going back to replan and locate the spot where they have a camp and we must ensure we drive them away. We cannot continue to allow them to hibernate within these areas and constitute a nuisance to residents. So the earlier we flush them out, the better for us,” the commissioner stated.
Nwadiaogbu further disclosed that additional tactical teams have been deployed to strategic villages across the two LGAs to ensure rapid response to distress calls.
“We already have more men on ground, deployed strategically in various villages. It is not possible to deploy to all the villages in this area. That is why we chose strategic villages from where we can launch reinforcement anywhere there is a distress call. Our patrol teams will continue to move round and provide reinforcement where necessary,” he explained.
The Commissioner assured residents that the Police would sustain the clearance operations until identified hideouts were wiped out and normalcy returns to the affected communities.
The latest operation comes amid heightened insecurity in parts of Otukpo and Ohimini LGAs, where residents have been forced to flee their homes following repeated attacks.
