Troops Arrest Two Suspected Berom Militia Linked to NIPSS Attack as Security Sources Say Investigation Supports Earlier Leads
By Zagazola Makama
Troops of Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) have arrested two suspected Berom militia allegedly linked to the recent attempted attack on the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, in another significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were apprehended at about 3:30 p.m. on July 4 during an intelligence-led operation by troops of Sector 6 at Trade Centre in Jos South.
According to the sources, one of the suspects was identified as Mr. Aboi, while the identity of the second suspect has yet to be officially released as investigations continue.
The sources said the two men were arrested in connection with the failed attack on the NIPSS facility and are currently undergoing interrogation to assist security agencies in identifying and apprehending other members of the alleged criminal militia network.
“The suspects are being exploited for further intelligence that could lead to the arrest of other members of the group involved in the attack,” one of the security sources said.
The latest arrests followed the July 2 attempted attack on the strategic national institution, during which troops engaged suspected Berom militia in a gun battle, killing one suspect while others escaped into nearby rocky terrain.
During that operation, troops recovered a service rifle bearing registration number CO-3175, which military authorities said had earlier been stolen from a soldier killed during an attack on troops at the Federal College of Land Resources Technology, Vom, on April 11.
The recovery of the weapon had already prompted security agencies to widen investigations into possible links between the recent attacks on security personnel operating within the Kuru-Vom axis.
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Following the publication of Zagazola Makama’s report identifying the slain attacker as a suspected member of an armed Berom militia operating within the area, the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM) issued a statement rejecting the report.
Barrister Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, the association’s president, denied that the Berom ethnic community operated any militia group and challenged the report’s conclusions, arguing that the ethnicity of the deceased had not been independently established.
He claimed that the association had conducted inquiries and spoken to people within the community, but that no one claimed to know the identity of the attacker. He challenged Zagazola Media Network to back its claims with evidence and urged security agencies and journalists to rely only on verified information in reporting security incidents.
Subsequently, Zagazola Makama published additional reporting stating that the deceased attacker had been identified by local residents and multiple security and community sources as Peter, a Berom resident of the Trade Centre area. The report was supported by a 17-second WhatsApp video clip in which an individual identified the attacker as someone from his area.
Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the arrest of the latest suspects in the same Trade Centre axis, where Peter was reportedly traced, has strengthened investigators’ efforts to establish the composition of the group responsible for the attacks.
The sources, however, stressed that investigations remain ongoing and that the suspects would be afforded due process while intelligence exploitation continues.
Military authorities have yet to issue an official statement naming the suspects or announcing any formal charges.
Meanwhile, security has been reinforced around the NIPSS complex, with troops maintaining aggressive patrols, surveillance and domination operations aimed at preventing further attacks on the institution and adjoining communities.
The arrests are expected to assist investigators in unraveling the network behind the repeated attacks on security personnel and strategic facilities within the Kuru-Vom corridor.