Women from the Agan community, located a few kilometres from Makurdi, the Benue State capital, staged a protest on Friday against what they described as the indiscriminate arrest of youths in their area by security operatives.
The protesters expressed deep concern over the recent wave of arrests, which they claimed targeted young members of their community without justification. One of the women, identified simply as Nguyan, said the security agencies had been randomly picking up youths in recent days.
“Many of our children have been arrested in the past few days. Security men just storm the community and take away our youths without explanation,” she said.
The protest comes in the wake of a recent incident where two Kano State indigenes, reportedly traveling through the Agan area to the eastern part of the country, were killed by some local youths. In response, Governor Hyacinth Alia, through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, announced that five suspects had been arrested in connection with the killings.
Reacting to the protest, the Benue State Police Command cautioned against any action that could derail its ongoing clearance operations aimed at flushing out criminals from the state.
The command, in a statement signed by its spokesperson, DSP Udeme Edet, advised the public to cooperate with law enforcement and refrain from engaging in protests that could pose security risks.
The statement, titled “Police Warn Against Distractions In Form of Protest,” highlighted that the command’s operations were already yielding results, with arrests made and criminal hideouts destroyed in areas such as Apa, Guma, Gwer-West, and Sankera.
“As part of support for operatives in the field, members of the public are requested to avail the police with useful information rather than distract the ongoing operations with protests,” the statement read.
It further warned that protests could divert police resources away from tackling crime, potentially giving criminals room to operate, and noted the risk of such gatherings being hijacked by hoodlums.
The police emphasized that the clearance operations, carried out in collaboration with sister agencies and supported by the state government, are in their final phase and are critical to restoring lasting peace in the state.
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The Command urged residents to support security efforts, stating, “Security is everybody’s responsibility,” and warned against any further assembly for protests that could compromise public safety or impede ongoing efforts.
