Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
There was fear in Gboko town, the ancestral home of the Tiv nation, as troops suspected to be from Nigerian Army headquarters in about seven trucks moved into the city, to patrol major streets in the area.
The police had on Wednesday confirmed seven persons killed in Gboko town, which made the state government impose a dusk-to-dawn curfew in the area. Residents of the area who confided in our correspondent said they were afraid when the trucks conveying the soldiers drove round the town suddenly, adding that shortly before the arrival of the soldiers, news had filtered in that the soldiers were on a mission to kill and burn down the entire town following the killing of some travellers by criminals the previous day.
However, Army spokesman for 707 Special Forces, Major Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni, dispelled the rumour that the soldiers were in Gboko to cause havoc, stressing that they were there to keep peace and maintain law and order.
“The soldiers are already in Gboko but what happened is that when they got there, they went round in about seven Hilux vans to register their presence in Gboko, to scare away criminals and law-breakers who want to cause disturbance and havoc in the area.
“The people were just afraid seeing the movement of the soldiers. We have heard about the insinuation but that is not true. The army’s presence in Gboko is to maintain peace and not to kill or burn houses. The army is for all Nigerians and not for a single set of people. It is against our ethics, it is against our profession to take sides,” Ayeni said.
Meanwhile, the Benue State Security Council has reviewed upward the N10 million bounty placed on wanted militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, alias Ghana, as part of the efforts to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state.
The council, yesterday, announced a reward of N50 million for anybody who could volunteer information that would help in the arrest of the suspected kidnap kingpin.
The council, which took the decision at a meeting presided over by its chairman, Governor Samuel Ortom, at Government House, Makurdi, said it considered it abundantly necessary to review the ransom from N10 million to N50 million to hasten the search for the notorious criminal and secure Katsina-Ala axis from the hands of criminals.
The meeting appealed to the people of the state to volunteer information that would lead to the arrest of the wanted man and urged them not to give him and his gang cover.
Briefing journalists at the end of the security council meeting, Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Lawrence Onoja Jnr., said the council has also banned vehicles with registration number plates covered.