by Lovely Onohwakpor
Police Arrest Three Over Robbery, Cult Activities in Benue
The Benue State Police Command has arrested three suspects in connection with alleged robbery and cult-related activities, days after four suspected cultists were apprehended during a violent clash in Gboko Local Government Area that reportedly left two people dead.
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The State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, disclosed this in a statement issued to journalists on Tuesday, noting that two of the suspects were arrested on Monday in Vandeikya Local Government Area while allegedly attempting to rob members of the public.
According to the statement, the Divisional Police Officer of Vandeikya Division acted on credible intelligence received at about 2:30pm on January 5, 2026, that hoodlums suspected to be armed robbers were sighted in the area, allegedly in possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons. The suspects, identified as Dominic Terkaa Peter, 30, and Sunday Tarvihi, 31, both from Ako-Fate, Ute in Vandeikya LGA, were arrested during the operation.
In a related development the same day, police operatives in Guma Local Government Area arrested a suspected cultist following intelligence that cult members were planning attacks on rival groups and unsuspecting residents in the Udei area. The suspect, Mnyam Ternenge, 21, was apprehended, while other suspects reportedly fled the scene.
Items recovered from the operations included a cutlass, a knife, hard drugs, a locally fabricated revolver pistol and a jack knife. Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested cult suspect confessed to being a member of the MBS cult group.
DSP Edet said efforts were ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects, adding that further investigations had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department in Makurdi. The Commissioner of Police, Emenari Ifeanyi, reassured residents of the Command’s resolve to eradicate cultism and other criminal activities, urging the public to continue providing timely and credible information to aid policing efforts across the state.
