By George Okoh in Makurdi
Five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Benue State were at the weekend killed by armed men suspected to be behind recent upsurge in crime in the state.
An eyewitness said the deceased were killed at Kundev ward in Ukum Local Government Area of the state while on a routine meeting in the area.
According to the source, the heavily armed men stormed Alabar, the ward headquarters of Kundev on motorbikes and rode straight to the village hall where the meeting was being held, captured five of the task force members and butchered them in broad day light.
“They invaded the community at noon on motorcycles and rode straight to where the meeting of the members of the CJTF, was being held in an office hall that was where they caught and killed five of them while other members escaped.”
Reacting to the killings, the state Chairman of the CJTF, Alhaji Aliu Teshaku, who confirmed the action, told THISDAY that the masterminds of the heinous murder were responsible for the rising cases of kidnap, violent crimes and robberies in parts of the state.
Teshaku alleged: “Five of them were killed by Gana’s boys because we told Gana and his group that they must stop perpetrating crimes and the kidnap of innocent persons. It was since we stepped in that the cases of kidnapping have been brought under control.
“We also went ahead to effect the arrest of his boys who are behind the act in our state, with a promise that we will not allow them chase our people away from their homeland because even our prominent brothers can hardly go to the villages to farm again due to the activities of Gana and his men.
“Angered by our actions, Gana in return sent a message to us that he will come after us, that is why they went and killed members of the CJTF who were holding their meeting in that village.”
Teshaku, who said the CJTF’s resolve is to always assist security agencies to checkmate the perpetrators of violent crimes in the state, said despite the killing, the CJTF would not relent in its responsibilities.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses who confirmed the attack, said the police would ascertain the masterminds of the attack at the end of its investigations.