Benue’s most wanted criminal, Terwase Akwaza, alias Gana, was arrested by soldiers of Operation Whirl Stroke on the outskirts of Gboko.

The Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom on Tuesday at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, confirmed the arrest.

He said Gana, who had surrendered to the Amnesty programme of his administration, was being escorted to Makurdi on Tuesday when troops of the operation whirl stroke arrested him at a security checkpoint on the outskirts of Gboko.

He said Gana was on his way to the state capital in the company of the Chairman of Katsina-Ala Local Government Council together with some of his gang members.

Gov. Ortom also disclosed that he had received 42 ex-criminals from Ukum, Logo and Katsina-Ala who had denounced criminality and surrendered their arms in Makurdi.

Earlier, the Force Commander of Operation Whirl Stroke, Maj. Gen. Adeyemi Yekini, had confirmed to Ortom that they were carrying out an operation and were in possession of the wanted militia leader.

Benue state had in 2015 granted amnesty to over 500 persons including Gana, but most of them had relapsed into criminality.

The governor said following the interception of the military, Gana and several others were whisked away together with arms, adding that only 42 arrived Makurdi.

“General Yekini has confirmed to me that they are carrying out an operation and that he will brief me when they are done and that they are with Gana. So, I am waiting to hear from him,” he said.

Ortom added that the State Government would exercise patience until the military briefed him on the matter.

In 2017, the Nigerian police declared Gana wanted after he was alleged to have killed “several innocent persons”.

The Benue State Government, at the time, placed a N10 million naira bounty on him.

In an exclusive interview with Channels Television in 2016, Gana had denied any involvement in the killing of Mr. Denen Igbana, a security aide to Governor Samuel Ortom.