Yelwata Killings: a suspicion arrested, says the police – Thage

Less than 48 hours after President Bola Tinubu ordered the arrest of the authors behind the mortal attack on the community of Yelwata in Benue’s state, the State Police Command confirmed the arrest of a suspicion in relation to the killings.

The president Tinubu, while turned to the parties interested in Makurdi on Wednesday, had openly reproached the police inspector, Kayode Egbetokun, for the lack of arrests following the massacre that caused over 50 lives.

“How come no one was arrested for committing this atrocious crime in Yelwata? Police general inspector, where are the arrests? The criminals must be arrested immediately,” asked the president.

Speaking with journalists at the headquarters of the command in Makurdi on Friday, the police commissioner of Benue State, Ifeanyi Enemari, confirmed that a suspicion had been arrested and was currently interrogated.

He said the suspicion has already provided useful information to investigators.

Aenemari revealed that four security agents – including two soldiers, an officer of Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) and a Civil Protection Guard – were killed during the attack.

He added that a police officer remains disappeared.

He explained that the accident started with an assault on a police station in Daudu, near Yelwata. The agents of the station involved the attackers in a gun duel, killing two attackers.

While the security forces responded to that attack, another group of armed men invaded Yelwata, launching a coordinated and fatal raid.

The initial relationships put the budget of civil victims at 45, but the commissioner said that the figure rose to 47 following the discovery of another body behind the Catholic Church of San Giuseppe.

Eight others were seriously injured and two later died in the hospital, bringing the total number of civil deaths to 47, excluding the two armed men killed in the previous exchange.

In response to the attack, Enemari said that security has been strengthened in Yelwata and in the nearby areas with the deployment of mobile police units, tactical teams and military support.

Facing the discrepancies between the data on the police victims and the previous relationship of 59 deaths of Hyacinth alia, the CP said that its figures were based on field assessments conducted in collaboration with the leaders of the community and other security agencies.

“I am presenting what I personally observed on the field, together with the leader of the community of the community and other security agencies,” he clarified.

At the arrest of the demonstrators in Makurdi, Enemari explained that the event, initially started in peace, was diverted by the thugs who engaged in criminal acts, including the combustion of a oil tanker with the driver trapped inside.

“This is not a peaceful protest – it is a murder. Fourteen suspicions have been arrested and will be persecuted in court,” he said.

Enemari also confirmed the sharing of intelligence with the Nasarawa State Police Command, but refused to offer further operational details, citing in progress.

He turned to reports of arrests in the area of ​​the local government of Ushongo and Gyado Villa, Makurdi, where some individuals believed to be pastors Fulani were arrested.

He said the investigations revealed that they were normal travelers and not involved in Yelwata’s killings.

“We manage each case according to the tests and the right trial,” said the cp.