By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The Benue State Police Command has disclosed major strides in the fight against crime, with the arrest of 176 suspects and recoveries of arms, ammunition, and stolen property in the month of July 2025.
Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, who disclosed this during a press briefing in Makurdi, said the state has witnessed relative peace in recent weeks due to intensified security efforts.
He attributed the success to coordinated operations carried out by the police in collaboration with sister security agencies, with support from the Benue State Government and reinforcement from the Force Headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, the improvement in security has led to the return of displaced farmers and residents to their farmlands and communities across the state.
He added that many suspects had been arrested and prosecuted, while convictions had been secured in court.
Emenari stated that measures such as planned operations in remote communities, increased patrols within urban areas, intelligence-led policing, raids on criminal hideouts, and stop-and-search operations contributed to the results recorded during the period under review.
He said the police arrested several suspected armed robbers in Makurdi and other parts of the state, following swift responses to reports of robbery incidents, noting that the suspects were apprehended in areas such as Modern Market, Kanshio, Adeke, North Bank, and Sankera axis, and stolen vehicles and household items were recovered during the operations.
Also, he said that command arrested dozens of suspected cultists during patrols and raids in areas including Wadata, North Bank, and Ankpa Ward with many of them already arraigned in court.
The commissioner also revealed that police operatives recovered stolen motorcycles from an uncompleted building in Wurukum, Makurdi, after receiving credible intelligence that the location was being used as a storage point for stolen items.
In addition to those recoveries, the command’s efforts in tackling the proliferation of arms yielded significant results as security operatives, acting on intelligence, recovered rocket launchers, AK-47 rifles, and thousands of rounds of ammunition during operations conducted in various parts of the state.
Emenari explained that several raids and clearance operations were carried out in areas affected by banditry, including Guma, Gwer-West, Logo, Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Kwande local government areas where a large number of bandits were repelled while some were neutralised during the offensives.
He acknowledged the sacrifice of police officers who lost their lives during these operations and expressed condolences to their families.
The commissioner sympathised with the affected families on the recent boat mishap in Ugah village of Buruku Local Government Area, which claimed two lives as he, however, condemned the violent protest that followed the incident, where angry youths, alleging foul play, went on a rampage, burning houses and destroying property.
He warned against jungle justice, stressing that taking the law into one’s hands would not be tolerated and assured that investigations into the boat accident and the destruction that followed were ongoing, and that those found responsible would face the full wrath of the law.
Emenari concluded by reaffirming the command’s commitment to sustaining peace in the state. He called on residents to continue cooperating with security agencies by providing timely and useful information that can aid policing efforts.
