The Plateau State Police Command has arrested a suspect in connection with the reported attack on Bin’per Community in Bwoi-Ruf District of Mangu Local Government Area.

The arrest followed credible intelligence obtained by the command during investigations into the incident.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Alfred Alabo in a statement issued on Thursday, the suspect was apprehended through the combined efforts of the Divisional Police Officers in Mangu and Bokkos.

“The suspect is currently in our custody while investigation is ongoing,” the statement said.

The command said it has intensified efforts to identify and arrest other individuals who may have been involved in the attack, adding that all available leads were being pursued to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, CP Ayodeji Faniyan, said the command would ensure that anyone found responsible for the attack, including those who may have sponsored, aided or abetted it, would face the law.

He said, “The Command, under my leadership, is doing everything within its constitutional powers to ensure that the perpetrators of the attack, including anyone found to have sponsored, aided, abetted or participated in the act, are identified, arrested and made to face the full weight of the law.”

The Commissioner urged residents, particularly those in affected and neighbouring communities, to remain vigilant and provide the Police with timely and credible information that could assist in preventing crime and apprehending offenders.

The command also appealed for continued public cooperation and reaffirmed its commitment to protecting lives and property and maintaining peace across Plateau State.

The Police further commended members of the media for their professionalism and cooperation in keeping residents informed.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested a man accused of impersonating its personnel and allegedly using a tactical uniform and fake firearm to intimidate and extort motorists in Abuja.

The suspect, identified as Moferewa Maiye from Agbajojun Village in Mopamuro Local Government Area of Kogi State, was arrested late Wednesday around NITEL Junction along Adetokunbo Ademola Way, Wuse II.

A security source told Zagazola Makama that the DSS acted on credible intelligence that Maiye had allegedly been posing as a DSS operative and using the uniform and fake weapon to intimidate commuters and motorists.

“He was arrested in possession of a DSS tactical uniform and a fake pistol,” the source said.

According to the source, the suspect was trailed to his hideout before being apprehended by DSS operatives.

“He was using the uniform and the fake weapon to intimidate commuters and motorists and extort money from them,” the source added.

During interrogation, Maiye reportedly claimed that his late brother, identified as Monday Maiye, was a DSS personnel.

“He told investigators that his brother was a DSS personnel who died years ago,” the source said.

The suspect also allegedly told investigators that the DSS uniform and other items found in his possession belonged to his late brother.

“He claimed that the DSS kit in his possession was his late brother’s,” the source said.

The DSS is now investigating how the suspect obtained the uniform and other items bearing the identity of the Service.

“Investigators are trying to establish how he came about the DSS uniform and kit,” the source said.

Officials are also examining whether Maiye had previously engaged in similar acts.

“Investigators are also trying to establish how long the suspect has been involved in similar acts of impersonation and extortion,” the source added.

The suspect remains in custody while interrogation and investigations continue.

The source said the arrest was part of efforts to prevent criminals from exploiting the identity of security agencies to commit offences.

The Commander of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Ogun State, CN Tijjani Rabe, has fired back at popular human rights activist and presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, over his criticism of the agency’s anti-drug operations.

Rabe asserted that leadership cannot be built on insults against institutions that “sacrifice daily for this country.”

Recall that Sowore, in a post on X on Tuesday, faulted the agency for destroying cannabis farms, describing it as an economically viable crop.

He asked the government to legalize and regulate the cultivation of the plant to harness its medicinal and industrial potential rather than destroying it.

He wrote, “It is idiotic @ndlea_nigeria wake up, put on uniforms, march into farms, and set economically viable crops worth millions of dollars ablaze while your country is drowning in multidimensional poverty.

“Stop destroying cannabis farms. Stop wasting enormous economic opportunities in the name of a failed and outdated policy.”

The Commander of Narcotics, in a statement on Wednesday, noted that while Sowore called the agency foolish, Nigerians are witnesses to the NDLEA’s record in the last five years.

According to him, the agency has made monumental seizures of illicit drugs and stopped tons from getting into homes, schools, barracks and motor parks.

“NDLEA did not wake up and decide to set farms ablaze for sport. We act on a clear mandate given to us by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“You cannot seek to be Commander-in-Chief and in the same breath denigrate the men and women who serve under that command,” Rabe stated.

Beyond enforcement, Rabe said the NDLEA has counselled and rehabilitated thousands of young Nigerians and dismantled transnational cartels that fund kidnapping, banditry and arms trafficking with drug proceeds.

Rabe argued that if Sowore disagrees with the law, the democratic path is to sponsor a bill to change it, not resort to abuse.

“If you disagree with the law, the democratic path is to sponsor a bill to change it. Not to resort to abuse. NDLEA, and indeed all law enforcement agencies, deserve better, especially from those who aspire to lead.

“Yes, we are grappling with poverty. But we are also grappling with addiction, mental illness, and insecurity that illicit drugs worsen. We cannot solve one crisis by deepening another.

“Legalization without strong guardrails, proper tracking, prescription monitoring, laboratories, and rehabilitation centres will only expand the black market,” he said.

He cited Canada as an example, noting that even years after legalization, the country still battles a thriving illicit market.

Rabe said that with Nigeria’s current regulatory capacity, the situation would be far worse, adding that many of the “economically viable farms” Sowore referenced are controlled by armed networks linked to trafficking and violence.

“To legalize now is to hand legitimacy to those same networks. You do not defeat poverty by empowering cartels,” the NDLEA boss said.

Rabe said the government should first fund laboratories, rehabilitation centres and cooperatives to make any future cannabis industry safe and sustainable.

“Until that foundation exists, NDLEA will continue to do what the law demands of us: interdict, destroy, and save lives. That is not ‘idiotic’, Sir. That is duty,” he said.

The commander added that while the agency would excuse the tone, it remains grateful to the millions of Nigerians who support its work.