Taraba Killings: DHQ Panel Arrests Two Police Men, Five Soldiers

Panel Investigates Taraba Killings

The panel set up by the Defence Headquarters to investigate the unfortunate clash between soldiers and policemen in Taraba State has ordered some arrests.

It was gathered that two policemen working at Ibi Police Division have been arrested by the panel for allegedly revealing information to the kidnap kingpin, Alhaji Hamisu Wadume.

The arrested police operatives are said to have been taken to Abuja.

Similarly, the panel has also ordered the arrest of five soldiers said to have been on duty at the Army checkpoint, Daily Trust reports.

The development could however not be confirmed as at press time as enquiries made were yet to receive feedback.

Naija News earlier reported three policemen and a civilian were killed by soldiers of the Nigerian Army on August 6 when police operatives were transporting an arrested kidnap kingpin to the Police headquarters in the state.

The Army, however, said the killings were done in error as its men, only responded to a distress call and couldn’t identify the operatives who were on a covert mission.

It was further gathered that the DHQ panel has dismantled two Army checkpoints between the boundary of Wukari and Ibi local government areas and the corpses of three police men and the civilian killed moved from Jalingo to Abuja.

Further gatherings on the saga revealed that about 60 people said to be working for the suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Wadume, are now on the run.

A source disclosed that those on the run allegedly include the manager of Wadume’s transport business as well as others who benefited from his generosity. The source added that they all disappeared two days after the killings of the officials.

Some houses in Ibi belonging to the suspected kidnap kingpin are said to have been sealed off by detectives investigating the incident.