Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Three persons were reportedly killed weekend, at Dyom village near Senga community in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, when armed men in military camouflage, said to be loyalists of late militia leader Terwase Agwaza also known as Gana, invaded.
However, two of the armed men, who also razed several houses in the community, met their waterloo when men of the joint security operation in the state, codenamed Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, in a counter-operation, apprehended two of them and recovered their weapons.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Col. Paul Hembe (retd.), who made this known to newsmen on Sunday in Makurdi, said the timely intervention of the OPWS personnel save what would have been a major bloodbath in the community.
He said: “These were armed men in military camouflage said to be loyalists of the late Gana. They stormed the area, killed three persons and also burnt down houses in the community.
“Luckily while this was going on, information reached personnel of Operation Whirl Stroke who stormed the area, apprehended two of the armed men and also recovered their weapons which included live ammunition and an AK-47 rifle including a locally-made gun,” he said.
Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Deputy Superintendent Catherine Anene, said she had not received details of the incident.
The State Security Council had, last week, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Katsina-Ala and Ukum councils to check the increasing cases of banditry, kidnapping and armed robbery, as well as general insecurity in the two councils.
In September last year, Gana (Terwase Agwaza) surrendered and was seized by the military. This was after Benue State and the Federal Government had placed a N50 million bounty on his head.
However, after his controversial death, reports emerged that Gana told his followers to avenge his death if anything happened to him.
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