- The Department of State Services (DSS) recently re-arrested a former governor of Benue state, Gabriel Suswam,
- Suswam had been placed on a closer watch since he was first arrested last year
- A report by a national daily claims he was arrested in connection to a wanted militia leader
A report by Vanguard has revealed that the arrest and detention of former Benue governor, Gabriel Suswam, was caused by a call he received from a notorious militia in the state.
According to the report, the militia, who had since been declared wanted by security agencies for wanton killings in Benue and neighbouring states, unconsciously plunged the former governor into trouble by placing a call to him; and the two-term governor picked without suspecting that his line had been under surveillance.
The former governor had reportedly been under the radar of the DSS since some guns and exotic vehicles were retrieved and taken away from a palatial property in Maitama District said to belong to him last year.
Although he was questioned and released in the wake of the incident, Suswam had been under the active watch of the security agencies, which were trying to establish if he had any links with the militia gangs operating in the state.
But his innocence came under question again last week when the security agents intercepted the call made by the wanted militia leader to him.
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Meanwhile, the Benue state government had denied that Governor Samuel Ortom has anything to do with the arrest of Suswam.
Ortom’s chief press secretary Terver Akase said in a statement sent to NAIJ.com that claims the arrest followed a petition by the state governor were not true.
The statement read in part: “We wish to categorically state that Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom did not write a petition which led to the arrest of former governor of the state, Gabriel Suswam, contrary to some media reports. Such reports are false, misleading and mischievous.”
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Source: Naija.ng