At least 10 suspected herders have been remanded in custody by the Benue State Police in connection with the killings in the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Ifeanyi Emenari, disclosed this during his maiden media briefing held at the Police Officers’ Mess, Makurdi, on Wednesday night.
Emenari said the figure was among the 42 gunmen earlier arrested and had been remanded and were awaiting trial, with many others undergoing investigation.
He added that most of the suspects were arrested upon his assumption of duty in the last month.
According to him, the command had taken the fight to those responsible for the attacks and killings in Benue communities, stressing that tactical teams had already been drafted to flashpoints across communities in the state.
He said, “I was posted to Benue State on April 24, 2025, and assumed duty on April 26, 2025. Upon assumption of duty, I stepped up strategic plans to tackle insecurity in the state.
“I visited crisis areas such as Ankpali in Apa, Naka in Gwer West, Ayilamo in Logo, Amafu in Katsina-Ala, Ukum, Agatu, Udei, Yogbo in Guma Local Government Areas, and many others.
I discovered that farmlands have no farmers. Therefore, we have deployed our tactical teams to the areas and are now combing the communities in search of the killers.
“And in the last month, we have arrested 42 armed herdsmen and local bandits from these communities. Most of them have been charged in court.”
Furthermore, he said, “We also have about 10 herdsmen who have been remanded by the courts in the course of their trial.
“Apart from those already charged to court, there are others who are still being investigated, and they would be charged to court at the end of the investigations.”
The CP said that the command recovered two AK-47 rifles and 21 locally made firearms from the suspects.
He added that the command had tackled the issue of cultism in the state, saying the fight against the menace had led to a reduction in-cult related attacks in the state.
While assuring the people of the state of restoring peace to all the communities, the CP appealed to them to cooperate with the command in its task of ensuring the security of lives and property in the state.
