No fewer than two suspected herdsmen were arrested by soldiers on Tuesday in Benue after they were engaged in a gun battle.
Men of the 707 Special Forces Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Makurdi, Benue State, according to Olabisi Ayeni, spokesman of the brigade, were on routine patrol when they noticed the suspects were plotting to attack a fish farm belonging to Governor Samuel Ortom.
When the troops accosted them to find out what their mission was, they opened fire on the troops, who in turn engaged them in a shoot out.
The encounter made some of them to flee while two of them were arrested and handed over to the police.
Said Ayeni in a statement issued on Thursday: “Troops of 707 Special Forces Brigade, Nigerian Army, on a routine patrol along Gbajimba – Iyiodeh Road in Guma LGA of Benue State on Tuesday 6 February 2018 arrested two Fulani militia who were suspected to be planning a dangerous mission.
“The troops sighted a group of these people while on their daily patrol. The militia who were suspected to be converging, possibly for an attack on Governor Ortom’s fish farm and other innocent citizens were about to be approached for questioning when they opened fire on the troops who later engaged them.
“When the troops accosted the herdsmen, they opened fire on the troops, who in turn engaged them in a shootout.
“In the course of the shootout, some of the herdsmen fled the area while two were arrested and handed over to the police.”
It would be recalled that herdsmen have been on rampage in the North Central area of the country, particularly Benue State.
In view of the intensity of the menace, the Nigerian Army on Wednesday launched “Ayem Akpatuma,” meaning ‘Cat Race’ to tackle the crises between herdsmen and farmer as well as cases of kidnapping in Benue and other states.
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The Chief of Training and Operations, Maj.-Gen. David Ahmadu, said on Wednesday in Abuja that the operation would run from February 15 to March 31 in Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger states.
The deployment came after several killings involving farmers and herdsmen in the north-central region of the country which resulted in several deaths and destruction of property worth millions of naira.
Ahmadu recalled that in 2017, the Army conducted several training activities for its personnel in different geo-political zones of the country, in line with its constitutional role in aid of civil authority.
“Exercise Ayem Akpatuma has become more expedient due to the upsurge in cases of armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling in Kaduna and Niger states,’’ he said.
