From Attah Ede, Makurdi
A notorious kidnapping kingpin identified as Yusuf Muhammed has been apprehended with 21 others in Orokam community in Ogbadibo local area of Benue State.
The Council Chairman, Mr. Sunday Ajunwa disclosed this to newsmen on phone in Makurdi, Saturday.
Mr. Ajunwa told journalists that Yusuf and his gang members were responsible for several kidnappings in the area.
He said Yusuf was arrested by a combined team of Police from Makurdi and Enugu as well as the vigilante group.
According to him, Yusuf was identified by his victims whom he tortured severely in captivity and had attempted to flee into the bush but the youths chased and caught him.
“It is true that Yusuf has been arrested by the combined team of Police from Makurdi and Enugu as well as the vigilante in the area. He attempted to run but the youths pursued and caught him.
“Those he kidnapped made confessional statement of how he tortured them in captivity. He is now in Police custody along with 21 others. Yusuf is a Fulani man.
“The security situation in Orokam is now stable though the curfew from 6pm to 6am is still enforced. But I am thinking of lifting it after meeting with security agencies and stakeholders”.
This development comes on the heels of a recent surge in kidnapping and other forms of criminality in the Orokam axis, which prompted the Ogbadibo Local Government Council Chairman, Sunday Ajunwa, to meet with the Benue State Commissioner of Police and other security agencies.
Residents of Orokam are celebrating the arrest, which they consider a significant breakthrough in the district.
But victims have expressed anxiety over his arrest and called on the Inspector General of Police, IGP to look into this particular arrest with keen interest.
The Benue State command police public relations officer PPRO DSP Udeme Edet, when contacted, said she would gathered more information and get back to the press.
