Robbers target cattle dealers in Nasarawa

“They know the market days. They come out when we are returning from the markets after sales. They have robbed dozens of traders and motorists along this road for very long now”, said a Fulani cattle dealer who added that “their chief target is cattle dealers since we rely on market days to sell.”

One Adamu said in most of the robbery operations, the robbers had no challenge from the police as they have always escaped without a trace. Along that road, check points are a rarity, except at Agwatashi where the Nasarawa State police command has stationed a team of Mobile policemen for stop-and-search operations, but our respondent said after one of the robbery attacks, victims rushed to report the direction the robbers took to this team of policemen with disappointment. “They told us they did not have good fire arms to face the robbers who usually attack sophisticated weapons, so we left,” Adamu said.

Weekly Trust spoke to the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Nasarawa State, ASP Richard Akoji, yesterday, and he confirmed the persistent robbery operations along that road. “We had discussions about that area, and we have already spoken to the DPO there to increase police patrol in the area,” Akoji said.