The Police in Nasarawa State on Monday confirmed the arrest of no fewer than 40 suspects in connection with the recent ethnic clashes in the state.
Also The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, says the military intervention in parts of Nasarawa State is successful and yielding positive results.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Umar Shehu, told newsmen in Lafia that the police also recovered weapons and charms from the suspects.
He disclosed that the police had also discovered a shallow grave at Tudun Adabu in the Obi Local Government Area of the state, where Alhaji Alhassan Gidado, Managing Director of the Police Community Bank, Tunde Banwo and their driver, Aliyu Adamu, were buried after they were killed.
He said the trio were declared missing on Sept. 14, having left Abuja on Sept. 13, to attend a wedding in the Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa State but that they could not reach their destination.
The commissioner said that the suspects directly linked to the killing of the bank chief were among those arrested by the police, while their remains had been unearthed for proper burial.
Shehu said that all the arrested suspects would be made to face the full wrath of the law.
According to him, the police will not relent in their efforts to ensure that lasting peace was restored to the affected communities.
He assured the people of the state that adequate security measures had been put in place to checkmate the nefarious activities of the militia group trying to make the state unsafe.
The commissioner urged those who fled their homes to return as the police and other security agencies would do everything to allay their fears and guarantee their safety.
He also urged members of the public to report any suspicious movement in their neighbourhood to security agencies for prompt action.
The renewed ethnic crisis had erupted in Obi and Lafia Local Government Areas of the state between Sept. 12 and Sept 13, leaving over 30 persons killed with properties worth millions of naira destroyed.
Consequently, the State Government imposed a partial ban on the use of motorcycles in seven Local Government Areas of the state from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The affected Local Governments are Awe, Obi, Keana, Lafia, Doma, Nasarawa-Eggon and Akwanga.
Also The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, says the military intervention in parts of Nasarawa State is successful and yielding positive results.
Maku said this on Monday when he received members of the Conference of Local Governments PDP Secretaries from the state, who visited him in his office in Abuja.
He said normalcy was gradually returning to the affected areas.
The minister, who expressed optimism that the violence would soon be permanently tackled, said government would continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments where necessary.
He said the Federal Government would work with the relevant authorities at all levels to ensure that those displaced by the crisis return to their homes in the shortest possible time.
“We do not want to bring politics into what is happening in Nasarawa State; I have always advised politicians to be forthright in all that they do.
“We are happy so far with the results we have got in the last few days of our intervention and we are monitoring the development very closely.
“By the special grace of God sustainable peace will definitely return to Nasarawa State,’’ Maku said.
He stressed the need for proper networking to ensure that proponents of violence were exposed and defeated in the interest of peace and harmony in the state.
The minister, who said that no ethnic group could develop the state in isolation of the others, called on political and traditional leaders in the state to be united in the interest of genuine development.
He said that leaders at all levels must shun violence and all forms of destructive tendencies by their supporters.
“There is no leader of substance that will support the destruction of lives and property anywhere.
“No ethnic group in Nasarawa State is an island; we must all work together for the progress of our state.
“We are calling on all communities to work on their members to ensure that the present spate of violence is tackled and peace entrenched because government will not tolerate destruction of lives and property,’’ Maku said.
He urged indigenes of the state to support the transformation agenda of the Federal Government so as to alleviate the sufferings of the people of the state.
Earlier, the Chairman of the conference, Mr Sani Mohammed, had said that the group was in the minister’s office to commiserate with him over the loss of lives following renewed clashes in the state.
He said the group was in total support of the measures taken by the Federal Government to address the crisis.
Mohammed condemned the recent call by the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the removal of Maku as the supervising Minister of Defence.
He said that APC’s demands were ill-motivated and mischievous, stressing that the minister’s portfolio would not in any way interfere with the military intervention in the state.
The chairman called on Nigerians and the Federal Government to disregard the call by the party, saying that Maku was one of the outstanding members of the present crop of ministers.
He added that the minister was the first political office holder from the state to condemn the existence and activities of the Ombatse group.
Mohammed called on all indigenes of the state to continue to support the programmes of the Federal Government in the state.
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