OPWS personnel have enhanced security patrols in Benue State intensely, providing escort to farmers to farms and responding to armed attacks, and one armed criminal was neutralised and arms were seized during a robbery operation at the Ukum Local Government Area.
In a Wednesday statement, HQ JTF OPWS Acting Media Information Officer Lieutenant Ahmad Zubairu stated that soldiers dispatched to Ayilamo outpost in Logo LGA responded quickly on September 15 after a distress call upon learning that armed herders were shooting sporadically at Tse Anema village, Tombo Council Ward. While suspects escaped when troops arrived, soldiers launched aggressive patrols to overtake the area and calm down occupants.
During clearance operations in Logo LGA’s Azege village, troops intercepted two suspected criminals burning yams on the road. The suspects ran into the bush, and troops also encountered a destroyed soybean farm by cows. Patrols were maintained in the area to secure farmers and stop further destruction.
Later in the day, at 5:15 p.m., Defence Special Operations Force (DSOF) troops based in Afia Market, Ukum LGA, acted on a report that armed robbers were attacking businessmen. Soldiers laid an ambush for the suspects and neutralized one suspect while arresting an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, and three charges of 7.62mm ammunition.
Paying tribute to the troops, OPWS Force Commander Major General Moses Gara commended their “timely and professional response” and reaffirmed the need to disarm criminal gangs.
“Every encounter with armed actors should be followed by arms recovery so as to deprive such arms of being used against innocent citizens in the future,” said Gara, restating OPWS’s resolve to secure Benue, Taraba, and Nasarawa States from violent attacks.
