Police Dislodge Criminals From Kogi Forest

The Kogi State police command has intensified bush clearance operations across forests linking Kabba/Bunu, Obajana and Lokoja, dislodging suspected criminal elements from hideouts in the area.

According to the state police spokesman, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, the operation, conducted at about 7am on August 20, followed the directive of the commissioner of police, Naziru Bello Kankarofi, to sustain pressure on criminals hiding in remote forests across the state.

The joint operation involved personnel of the police, military, local vigilante groups and other auxiliary security forces.

The security team moved through the Daji 2 Forest Zone, a strategic corridor linking Kabba/Bunu, Obajana and Lokoja where an abandoned settlement suspected to have been used as a hideout and staging point for criminal activities was identified and cleared.

The team also advanced to Amos Camp, another abandoned hideout situated in a difficult terrain characterised by creeks and mountains.

The team successfully entered the area and carried out a thorough clearance of the camp and adjoining forest paths.

The command said signs of recent movements were observed along routes leading towards the Oyo Forest axis of Obajana, suggesting that criminal elements had vacated the area ahead of the advancing security forces.

It added that the operation had boosted the confidence of farmers and residents in the affected communities, with many returning to their farmlands and resuming their daily activities following the sustained security presence.

The Kabba Area Command and other security formations in the area are maintaining patrols, intelligence gathering and bush clearance operations to prevent criminals from regrouping or establishing new hideouts, the police added.

They said similar coordinated operations were ongoing in other parts of Kogi State as part of a broader strategy to flush out criminal elements from identified forests and remote locations.