NSCDC raid Ebonyi-Benue border gang hideout, recover AK-47, ammunition
- NSCDC operatives for Ebonyi dismantle one suspected criminal hideout near Benue border for Izzi LGA.
- The raid recover AK-47, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, knives and ammunition.
- Commandant Francis Nnadi say suspects run away and manhunt dey on before elections.
Security operatives for Ebonyi State don break up one suspected criminal hideout along Ebonyi-Benue border, and dem recover AK-47 rifle and other weapons, na so Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) talk.
The raid target camps wey suspected hoodlums and cult groups dey use around Izzi Local Government Area, close to Benue State line. The command Intelligence and Investigation Department join with State Commandant Special Squad do the operation.
The Ebonyi NSCDC Commandant, Francis Nnadi, brief journalists at the command headquarters for Abakaliki on Thursday. He talk say the operation follow intelligence gathering, but the sources no agree on how long: Channels TV and The Sun talk one week, while Daily Post talk weeks of surveillance.
Wetin dem recover
According to Nnadi, when dem search the hideout, dem find one AK-47 rifle, one double-loaded magazine, four rounds of live ammunition, one locally made pistol, one pump-action gun, five tactical knives and different charms.
Dem no arrest the suspects. According to Daily Post, dem run enter bush paths as operatives close in. Nnadi talk say manhunt dey go on for nearby forests and communities to find dem.
Nobody don charge or convict over the arms, and NSCDC never name any suspect.
Why e matter
Border communities for Ebonyi and Benue don dey complain for long about armed groups wey dey move through bush between the two states. For farmers and traders for Izzi and nearby villages, weapons for those forests na direct threat to safety and to movement between markets.
Nnadi use the briefing warn criminal groups to comot from the state as general elections dey come. "I want to warn criminal elements ahead of the general elections to flee Ebonyi State," he talk, and add say the command and other security agencies ready to rid the state of crime.
He also assure residents of border communities of security before, during and after the elections, and ask dem to continue to pass credible information to security agencies.
Wetin go happen next: NSCDC talk say their manhunt continue for forests and nearby communities. Dem dey ask residents for border areas to report suspicious movement to security agencies.
