By Olayemi Esan
Troops of 72 Special Force Brigade, Nigeria Army, Makurdi on Monday night, June 14 intercepted 73 young men from Nasarawa state on their way to Imo.
According to a report, the able-bodied young men who were loaded in five trucks were intercepted at Agan Toll Gate, Makurdi by the military working on a security report.
Also seen with the young men were 47 Bajaj motorcycles.
The trucks were said to be conveying some minerals from Plateau state to a Port Harcourt-based company.
Benue government expresses concerns, commends soldiers
Benue state deputy governor, Benson Abounu, who visited the barracks on Tuesday, June 15 commended the soldiers for the arrest.
He expressed joy that despite the attempts to evade arrest, the soldiers were able to apprehend the trucks and arrest the men.
He expressed surprise at how such a large number of young men from the same state could be found together going to the crisis-ridden Imo state.
Nigerian Army reveals how the men were apprehended
The Commander of 72 Special Forces Brigade, Lt. Col. AD Alhassan said that his men acted based on security report.
He said that as soon as they got the report that some trucks were heading to Makurdi they moved to intercept the trucks immediately.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Anambra, a new security outfit deployed to the state to crush cultists and other criminals have allegedly killed six suspects.
According to reports, the unnamed outfit arrived in Awka, the state capital, on Saturday, June 12.
The group's modus operandi is likened in style to Bakassi Boys, an unorthodox group known for jungle justice in the state over two decades ago.
In a related development, Nigerian security operatives recently destroyed one of the camps of the Eastern Security Network (ESN) linked to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
According to the report, the invasion of the camp was carried out by operatives of the army, police, and Nigerian Air Force.
The dismantling of the camp reportedly took place at Amii-Akabo in Ikeduru local government area of the state.
Recall that the Nigerian Army on Tuesday, June 8 disclosed that the ESN has killed 128 military and police personnel, as well as 15 civil defence officers, and 31 community policing members in the southeast region of the country.
The army also disclosed that the group has also killed over 100 civilians who refused to support its activities.
The Brigade Commander of 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Owerri, Imo state, Brigadier-General Raymond Utsaha, made the revelations in Owerri, Imo state capital, at a joint press conference he organised held with the state commissioner of police, Abutu Yaro.
