Three cable vandals arrested in Benue

Three persons, including a suspected police officer, were apprehended by a vigilance group in the early hours of Tuesday vandalising electrical cables around Demekpe in Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

According to a resident, who simply identified himself as Debur, the suspects were vandalising electrical cables around the Demekpe community when the community vigilante members arrested them.

He said, “The incident happened around 3:00 am on Tuesday when we heard the noise of the vigilantes and the suspects, which made some youths in the community come out.

“Safe for the vigilante, youths wanted to set them ablaze, but they hurriedly called policemen from D division, who came and took them away.

In the possession of one of the suspects was a police identity card with ID 309976 and the name Innocent Ishaku, with his picture attached to it.”
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When contacted, the Head of Corporate Communication at Jos Electricity Distribution, Dr Adakole Elijah, confirmed the incident but said he could not ascertain the identity of the suspected police officer.

He said, “It is true, three people were arrested, and they will soon be charged in court.”

When asked about one of the suspects being a police officer, Adakole said, “Well, that I cannot say for now. You know, these criminals most times flaunt security personnel’s identity cards.”

Efforts to get the spokesperson for the state command, DSP Udeme Edet, were not successful; calls to her cellphone rang out.

She also did not respond to text messages sent to her cellphone as of the time of filing this report.