Troops of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) in Benue State have apprehended 23 members of a notorious gang headed by wanted militia kingpin, Terwase Akwaza, popularly known as Gana.
Gana has been linked to series of past killings in Kastina-Ala, Ukum and Logo local government areas respectively, such that the state security council placed a ransom on his head since 2017.
Force Commander of OPWS, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, on Tuesday disclosed to newsmen in Makurdi that the raid on Gana’s men by his troops had so far led to the stabilisation of the Katsina-Ala, Gbishe, Tarkun general area which has now made vehicular movement along that axis possible.
“We have stabilized Kastina-Ala, Gbishe, Tarkum axis as a result of our onslaught against Gana which was not the case in the past. There is now normal vehicular movement along that axis. We have also extended onslaught on criminal elements along that axis and all known kidnap hideouts along that axis have also been destroyed.
“We have successfully caged Gana and dismantled all illegal checkpoints manned by his men through which they extort money from innocent citizens.
“The war against him is not just on military fronts alone but also along the economic line because we believe that if he doesn’t have money from kidnapping, he won’t be able to carry out his nefarious acts again. Twenty-three of his men were also arrested in recent times and handed over to the police for prosecution,” Yekini said.
