…Suswan calls for investigation into the killing
Samuel Ortom, Benue governor, says Terwase Akwaza, better known as Gana, who is alleged to be the most wanted criminal in the state, was intercepted by the army on his way to surrender.
Speaking with journalists on Tuesday after receiving some repentant criminals in the state, Ortom said he got a call that Gana was arrested in Gboko and immediately reached out to the army authorities.
The governor wondered why the army would arrest Gana because the security agencies are aware of the state government’s amnesty programme.
“It was around 4pm when we were waiting for the repentant militias that I received a call that Gana and others have been arrested close to Yandev roundabout in Gboko by soldiers,” he said.
“Many of the repentant militias had weapons in which they were bringing to surrender to us. The process of the amnesty programme was known to the security operatives, so I don’t know why they have to be arrested.
“Immediately I got the information, I contacted the commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, General Yekini, who told me that they were carrying out an operation and promised to get back to me, so I am still waiting for him.”
But the governor’s account runs contrary to that of the army.
Moundhey Ali, commander of ‘4 special forces command’, had told journalists that Gana was killed along Gbese-Makurdi road after an exchange of gunfire.
“At about 13:00 hours, there was an engagement with the convoy of Gana, a shoot-out ensued and the bandit was killed,” Ali told reporters.
In a related development ,the Immediate past governor of Benue State and serving Senator Gabriel Suswam has called for an investigation into the killing of Terwase Agwaza alias Gana, after criticising the circumstances that led to the wanted militia leader’s end.
Suswam, who represents Benue North Senatorial District, made the call a day after the military announced that it killed the militia leader who had been wanted for years in a firefight.
“Even war criminals captured alive are entitled to certain rights,” he said in a statement titled ‘A Time to Heal’.
“The claim that Gana was killed in a gunfight needs further explanation because those who accompanied him and who watched him being taken away, including his Local Government Chairman, do not believe he was in possession of any arms.
“An independent judicial commission of inquiry will unravel facts of the matter to serve as lessons for the future”.
Suswam’s comments on the killing are similar to those of Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom who accused the military of bungling a plan aimed at bringing about peace and putting the security of the state in jeopardy.
He confirmed that Gana, a militia leader who had evaded authorities for years, had come out of his hideout on Tuesday as part of an amnesty programme by the Benue government.
He said, “The Benue State Government along with the security agencies have long desired for a return to normalcy, peace, prosperity, and security of the area.
“We have all been in agreement that the continuous existence and activities of gangs are an ill wind that blows no one any good. That is why some leaders were mandated to reach out to these outlaws to persuade them to drop their arms and channel their energies towards the rebuilding of our thoroughly battered community.
“We were all excited to see the dreaded Gana come out of hiding to the warm embrace of our Traditional Rulers, Clergy and political leaders at a public function at the Akume Atongo Stadium in Katsina-Ala. Our joy was multiplied when we saw him along with his militia surrender arms and publicity renounce a life of crime. Our reverred King extracted a pledge from him never to turn his kingdom into a wasteland.”
Pictures which emerged from the meeting between Gana and local authorities on Tuesday before he was killed, showed the militia leader, all smiles, standing with a traditional ruler.
Suswam in his statement said those at the forum “heaved a great sigh of relief with the thought that finally, a life full of uncertainty has come to an end”.
But he is now concerned about the future in his Senatorial district where he said Gana had been a source of terror and warned extrajudicial killings can only lead to more trouble.
He said, “While I have been consistent in condemning the reign of terror he unleashed on his community, I cannot in good conscience as a lawyer of over three decades and a senior parliamentarian accept cold-blooded extra-judicial murder of an unarmed person as a solution to our security problems. The lessons of the Boko Haram escalation after a similar murder of its leader are still here with us.
“If this method is accepted as a norm in our country, there will be no need for laws and courts. We stand to benefit more by subjecting suspects to due process of the law. Information extracted from a living Gana would have helped security agents get to the root of activities of criminals. By this Gestapo style execution, we have missed an opportunity to learn vital lessons about the structure of crime in the area.”
