Wole Ayodele in Jalingo
Two persons, including a driver staff of Takum Local Government Area, were yesterday arrested by the Police in Takum for allegedly being in possession of two dead bodies.
The two men were intercepted and arrested by police personnel around Kwambai/Jenuwa village while attempting to dump the corpses in the bush, and were taken to Takum Divisional Police headquarters.
At the police station, the policemen on duty had a hectic time controlling the crowd of youths who gathered at the station demanding the release of the suspects to them ostensibly to carry out jungle justice on them.
One of the youths, simply identified as Irayang, was however allegedly felled by police bullet, though the circumstance of the shooting is still unclear as at the time of filing the report
Confirming the incidence to journalists, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO)/Taraba State Command, DSP David Misal, said the state Commissioner of Police had directed the two suspects and the Hilux van they used in conveying the dead bodies to be brought to the state headquarters for thorough investigation.
Misal further revealed that the police in the area were alerted of the suspicious movements of the suspects by the locals which led to their arrest, adding that he was yet to receive the details of the incident.
According to him, “We don’t have the details yet, but the suspects are on their way to Jalingo on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Alkasim Sanusi. We will do our investigation upon their arrival to ascertain what exactly happened.”
Meanwhile, speaking in a telephone interview, the local government area Chairman, Shiban Tikari, told journalists that the two dead bodies are that of armed robbers killed by the vigilante in the area.
He stated that the council had donated the Hilux van to the vigilante group in the area.
“The two people killed were armed robbers who engaged our vigilante youths in a shootout. In the process, two of the armed robbers were killed. For the past three weeks, our vigilante group has been on a routine checks to tackle kidnapping, and yesterday they were attacked by armed robbers and the two criminals were killed in the process.
“I was a surprise that Kuteb people from Jenuwa came to the police station this morning that their people were killed, making it look as if it was a communal crisis,” he said.
Tikari, however, stated that he would not rest on his oars until Takum is rid of criminal elements that have made the area a den of kidnappers and other criminals recently.
