A renowned gang leader in Benue State, Terwase Akwaza, aka Ghana, has surrendered 84 guns to the state government.
Governor Samuel Ortom, after the State Executive Council meeting, said Ghana embraced the amnesty programme declared by his administration for residents of the state to surrender illegal weapons in their possession.
Ortom who announced that the amnesty had been extended to the end of September.
The governor stated that the extension of the amnesty window became necessary following a plea by the gang leader that he needed time to persuade some of his friends in the underworld to also surrender their weapons.
Ghana was quoted as saying he became a militant leader to secure his community, adding that he had decided to genuinely embrace the calls by Ortom for people in the state, holding illegal weapons, to surrender them and embrace peace.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Security, Col. Edwin Jando (retd.), disclosed that he received “135 assorted rifles and 770 rounds of ammunition from those who voluntarily surrendered their weapons, with 84 rifles submitted by Akwaza”.
The governor expressed appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari, Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku; the Catholic Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Bishop Peter Adoboh, and others for their support for the amnesty programme.
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