By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Edo State Police Command has made clarifications concerning the controversy surrounding the identity of the four men arrested by the operatives of the state security corps on Saturday.
The command stressed that four men arrested with firearms in the state were hunters from Kano State, not armed herdsmen, as being speculated on social media.
This is contained in a statement issued by the command’s spokesperson, Moses Joel Yamu, on Sunday.
The statement identified the four men as Yusuf Abdulkarim, Mujaheed Garba, Shittu Idris, and Jamilu Habibu emphasizing that they were intercepted by operatives of the Edo Security Network and handed over to police officers at Ikpoba Hill Division.
Yamu said items recovered from the suspects included three Dane guns, six empty cartridges, three half-filled cartridges, four cutlasses, and two daggers.
He noted that contrary to claims circulating online that armed herdsmen were arrested at a hotel in the state, investigations revealed that the suspects were hunters who had travelled from Doguwa in Kano State to Uvbe community in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of Edo State
The statement read, “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 Orhionwon Local Government Area of Edo State. Meanwhile, an investigation is ongoing.”
The state Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, urged residents to avoid spreading unverified information that could cause unnecessary panic and tension.
