Nine suspected members of a cult who were terrorising the Adoka neighbourhood and surrounding areas in the state's Otukpo Local Government Area have been detained by the Benue State Police Command.
The suspects, one of whom was a young woman, were charged with setting houses on fire.
Wale Abass, the state's commissioner of police, revealed that the Adoka hamlet and its surroundings had nearly been overwhelmed by suspects.
“The moment these people wreak havoc, they escape into the bush. The latest one was burning of five houses in Adoka last Saturday.
“Luckily, our men were able to apprehend some of them and they were brought to the headquarters in Makurdi,” Abass said.
A community leader, who identified himself as Obaje Gabriel, told journalists that the suspects had disrupted the peace of Adoka community between Saturday and Sunday.
“These boys insisted that they must take over the village; they take drugs and do whatever they want. Sometimes, they will be insulting the elders on the streets and say nobody can do them anything.
“They burnt five houses last Saturday and Sunday,” Gabriel said.
The only female among the suspects who declined to give her name said she was only trying to intervene in a fight when she was arrested.