Edo Police Clarify Arrest Of Four Men With Firearms

The Edo State Police Command has issued a clarification regarding the arrest of four men found with firearms, refuting claims on social media that they were armed herdsmen.

Naija News reports that the police confirmed that the men were hunters from Kano State and not the suspected herdsmen, as initially speculated.

In a statement released Saturday night, signed by the police spokesperson, Moses Joel Yamu, the command provided details of the incident.

The suspects, Yusuf Abdulkarim, Mujaheed Garba, Shittu Idris, and Jamilu Habibu were intercepted by operatives of the Edo Security Network and handed over to the police at Ikpoba Hill Division.

According to the statement, items recovered from the suspects included three Dane guns, six empty cartridges, three half-filled cartridges, four cutlasses, and two daggers. The police emphasized that the men were not armed herdsmen as suggested online.

Yamu noted that contrary to claims circulating on social media that the suspects were arrested at a hotel in the state, investigations revealed that they were hunters who had traveled from Doguwa in Kano State to the Uvbe community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State.

“The Edo State Police Command is aware of misinformation on social media that four herdsmen armed with guns were arrested at Americanus Hotel on Osemwenkhae Street after Big Joe Motors, Ramat Park, Orogbeni Quarters and handed over to the police. Preliminary investigation reveals that they are hunters, not herdsmen. They were from Doguwa in Kano State, heading to the Uvbe community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State. Meanwhile, an investigation is ongoing,” the statement read.

In light of the misinformation, the state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, called on residents to refrain from spreading unverified information that could incite unnecessary panic and tension in the community.

He urged the public to trust the authorities and allow investigations to unfold without jumping to conclusions.