The Taraba Sate Police Command has arrested 39 ‘strange men’ in Nguroje, Sardauna Local Government Area of the state. The Command’s spokesman, ASP David Missal, disclosed this yesterday, while briefing newsmen in Jalingo.


Missal said the arrest of the suspicious men, whose ages ranged between 30 and 40, followed an alarm raised by Nguroje residents. He said the men, who were allegedly harboured by a woman in the community, were first taken to Gembu Divisional Police Headquarters, where they were interrogated and later transferred to the Command Headquarters in Jalingo, for further investigation.

The police spokesperson said the men claimed to be refugees from Cameroon Republic, but that their movement was suspicious because they did not report their arrival in the area to any security agency or any other appropriate authority.

He said that earlier batches of refugees, who fled the crisis ridden North-West Cameroon, comprising women, children and the aged, reported to appropriate quarters and were camped and catered for.

 “This set of able-bodied men only sneaked into Nguroje, passing through other towns and Gembu, the council’s headquarters, without information,” he said.

Missal, however, said no incriminating item was found on them, adding that the people were currently undergoing interrogation with a view to ascertaining their mission in the area.