Four hunters from Kano State have been apprehended in Edo for possessing firearms. The suspects – Yusuf Abdulkarim, Mujaheed Garba, Shittu Idris, and Jamilu Habibu – were arrested at the Americanus Hotel on Osemwenkhae Street after being intercepted at Big Joe Motors in Ramat Park, Orogbeni Quarters, and subsequently handed over to the police.
The Edo State Police Command confirmed the arrest, noting that the suspects were found with guns.
The hunters were captured in Ramat, Ikpoba Hill area of Benin by the Edo State Security Corps, who discovered cutlasses hidden in their bags.
CSP Moses Yamu, the police spokesperson, clarified that the arrested individuals were hunters, not herdsmen, as some social media reports had suggested.
“They were intercepted by a member of the Edo Security Network with three dane guns, six empty cartridges, three half-filled cartridges, four cutlasses, and two daggers,” Yamu explained.
The suspects, who are from Doguwa in Kano State, were reportedly en route to Uvbe Community in the Orhionwon Local Government Area of Edo State.
The police from the Ikpoba Hill Police Station are currently interrogating them.
The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, urged the public to avoid spreading false information that could create unnecessary tension.
This incident follows the tragic killing of 16 hunters from Kano, who were killed in Uromi, Edo State, while traveling for the Sallah holidays.
The killings sparked widespread outrage across the country.
