…..Recover GPMG, AK-47 Rifles, Over 2,200 Rounds of Ammunition
In a series of well-coordinated operations aimed at dismantling the arms supply networks fueling deadly attacks in Benue State and other parts of the North-Central region, the Nigeria Police Force has made significant breakthroughs, arresting key arms dealers and recovering a cache of military-grade weapons and ammunition.
According to a statement released by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, the operations were executed by operatives of the Force Intelligence Department – Intelligence Response Team (FID-IRT), acting on credible intelligence.
On June 21, 2025, the operatives stormed a forested hideout at the Kardako–Yelwata axis, bordering Nassarawa and Benue States, believed to be a base for bandits involved in the recent Yelwata killings. A fierce exchange of gunfire ensued, forcing the criminals to flee with gunshot injuries. In the process, two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs) were recovered from the site.
Furthering the crackdown, on July 8, 2025, the FID-IRT operatives apprehended a suspect, 25-year-old Abubakar Isah, along the Lafia–Makurdi expressway in Benue State. Isah was found with three AK-47 rifles and 1,002 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition. Intelligence revealed that the weapons were being transported on behalf of a notorious arms dealer, Jacob Adikwu, based in Abinsi, Guma LGA, for delivery to a well-known bandit kingpin, Dan Hassan, implicated in numerous attacks across Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger, and Kwara States.
In a related operation on July 12, 2025, another suspect, Ibrahim a.k.a. Chelsea, was arrested after confessing to transferring N6.5 million to Jacob Adikwu. N6 million of the funds was payment for two AK-47 rifles and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, while the remaining N500,000 was used to modify a Volkswagen vehicle with a concealed compartment for smuggling arms to Kwara State.
Acting on this intelligence, operatives launched a follow-up operation in Abinsi town on July 16, leading to the arrest of Jacob Adikwu. Three AK-47 rifles, 220 rounds of ammunition, and the Volkswagen vehicle were recovered. A subsequent raid on July 17 uncovered five more AK-47 rifles, a rocket launcher, and 1,000 additional rounds of live ammunition from the same suspect.
The police have intensified efforts to apprehend Dan Hassan and other accomplices still at large, while those in custody will be prosecuted upon the conclusion of investigations.
Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM, commended the operatives for their relentless efforts and affirmed the Force’s resolve to eliminate the supply chains enabling violence in Benue and beyond. He reiterated that under the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the Police will not relent until peace and order are restored across the country.
