By Desire Emmanuel
A man described as a notorious leader of bandits responsible for multiple kidnapping and armed robbery incidents in the Benue-Taraba axis of the country has been arrested by men of the Nigerian Army.
According to reports, troops of the Forward Operating Base (FOB), Wukari, under the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army/ Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) arrested the man, Fidelis Gayama, after he was said to have carried out kidnapping of some people in Benue State.
It was gathered that the arrest was made on Sunday, December 21, during what the Nigerian Army described as a precision, intelligence driven operation at Vaase community, Ukum Local Government Area of Benue State. The man was also described as “a high value suspect long sought by security agencies.”
The Nigerian Army, in a statement on Monday, December 22, regarding the arrest, wrote: “Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect is closely linked to Aka Dogo, a wanted armed group leader, and is believed to be the ringleader of a criminal network that has terrorised travellers and communities along the Kente-Wukari Road and adjoining border areas between Benue and Taraba states.
“Further validation by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force at the Vaase Outpost confirmed that the suspect is among individuals declared wanted by the Beji Police Division, Ukum Local Government Area.”
The man is currently giving more useful information in military custody and will be handed over to the appropriate authorities for comprehensive investigation and prosecution.
