THE Plateau State Police Command has arrested nine persons over an alleged plot to launch another attack on residents of Angwan Rukuba in Jos North Local Government Area of the state.
The arrests came in the wake of a recent attack in the area that reportedly left over 30 people dead and several others injured.
The Commissioner of Police, Bassey Ewah, disclosed this on Friday while parading suspects arrested for various crimes in Jos.
According to him, the nine suspects, identified as members of the notorious ‘Sara Suka’ gang, were apprehended while allegedly planning a reprisal attack on the community.
‘Among those paraded were nine members of the Sara Suka sect who were planning to attack Angwan Rukuba. They said they were planning to avenge the killing of their relations during the last attack in the area. We also recovered arms and other weapons from them,’ he said.
In a related development, the police also arrested a student of the University of Jos found in possession of a pistol and a human skull.
Ewah said the suspect, whose identity was withheld, was arrested following credible intelligence linking him to suspicious activities, while investigations are ongoing to apprehend other accomplices still at large.
The commissioner disclosed that the command arrested additional suspects in connection with the murder of one Ebubechukwu Kelvin Ihionu.
He explained that the victim was lynched shortly after the Angwan Rukuba attack, with his body later discovered near the University of Jos permanent site.
According to Ewah, the breakthrough in the case came after police tracked the victim’s phone, which was recovered from one Usman Idris.
Further interrogation led to the arrest of other suspects.
The police boss assured residents of the command’s commitment to maintaining security and preventing further violence in the state.