By Peter Duru

MAKURDI—no fewer than five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, CJTF, in Benue State were, weekend, slaughtered in cold blood by armed men suspected to be the masterminds of the recent surge in kidnappings and violent crimes in the state.

Vanguard gathered from an eyewitness that the security agents were killed at Kundev council ward of Ukum Local Government Area of the state while they were holding a routine meeting.

According to the source, the heavily-armed men stormed Alabar, the ward headquarters of Kundev, on motorbikes, rode straight to the village hall where the meeting was being held, captured five of the Task Force members and killed them.

The source said: “They invaded the community at noon on motorcycles and rode straight to where the meeting of members of the CJTF was being held in an office hall. That was where they caught and killed five of them, while other members escaped.

“After the killing, the armed men fled the scene, while shooting sporadically to scare people away. So nobody went close for fear of being killed.”

‘We know who did this’

Reacting, the state Chairman of CJTF, Alhaji Aliu Teshaku, who confirmed the killing, told Vanguard that the masterminds were responsible for the rising cases of kidnap and robberies in parts of the state.

Teshaku alleged that “they were killed by suspected gang leader’s boys (names withheld) because we told him and his group that they must stop perpetrating crimes and the kidnap of innocent persons. It was since we stepped in that the cases of kidnapping have been brought under control.

“We also went ahead to effect the arrest of his boys, who are behind the act in our state, with a promise that we will not allow them chase our people away from their homeland because even our prominent brothers can hardly go to the villages to farm again due to the activities of the leader and his men.

“Angered by our actions, he sent a message to us that he will come after us; that is why they went and killed members of the CJTF, who were holding their meeting.”

Teshaku, who reiterated the resolve of CJTF to always assist security agencies to checkmate the perpetrators of violent crimes in the state, said despite the killing, CJTF would not relent in its responsibilities.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent Moses, who confirmed the attack, said police would ascertain the masterminds of the attack at the end of its investigations.