Suspected Policeman, 2 Others Nabbed For Alleged Cable Theft In Benue

A man suspected to be a police officer and two others, have been arrested by a vigilante group in the early hours of Tuesday for vandalising electrical cables around Demekpe in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

An eyewitness who simply identified himself as Simon, told our correspondent, that the suspects were vandalising cables from a transformer when they were caught by the vigilantes.

He said, “The incident happened around 3am on Tuesday when we heard the noise of the vigilantes and the suspects, which made some youths in the community to come out in large numbers.”

The source said that youths were pleading with the vigilante group to hand over the suspect to them so that they will set them ablaze, accusing the suspects to be responsible for constant blackout bring experienced in the area.

According to the eyewitness, the vigilantes swiftly called the police who came and took the suspects away.

Upon interrogation, one of the suspects was found in possession of a police identity card with identification number: 309976 and the name as Innocent Ishaku with his picture attached.
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When contacted, the Head of Corporate Communication at Jos Electricity Distribution, Dr Adakole Elijah, who confirmed the incident, said he could not ascertain the identity of the suspected police officer.

“It is true, three people were arrested, and they will soon be charged to court,” Dr Adakole said.

Efforts to speak with the Benue Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Udeme Edet did not yield results as she did not answered her calls or replied to text messages sent to her mobile phone.