The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has ordered a 14-day security operation across Benue State aimed at recovering illegal firearms and dismantling criminal hideouts as part of renewed efforts to tackle insecurity.

Speaking during a stakeholders' meeting at the Government House in Makurdi on Friday, the IGP said the operation followed President Bola Tinubu's directive to end the persistent security challenges in the state.

Disu stressed that only authorised security personnel are permitted to carry firearms, warning that anyone found in illegal possession of weapons would face prosecution.

He also directed police officers participating in the operation to enforce the law decisively, including acting under Force Order 237 when confronted by armed criminals.

The police boss assured residents that coordinated security operations would continue until lasting peace and stability are restored across Benue State.

Also speaking, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Mobile Policing, Francis Iduh, disclosed that security agencies had identified 14 major flashpoints for the special operation.

According to him, communities including Gbajimgba, Arufu, Agasha, Kwande, Agatu, Naka, Otukpo, Makurdi, Apa and other vulnerable areas have been mapped for intensive surveillance and clearance operations.

He explained that security operatives would target forests, farmlands and other suspected criminal hideouts to flush out armed herders, bandits and other criminal elements while ensuring that law-abiding residents are not harassed.

Iduh urged residents to support the operation by providing credible intelligence, assuring that the exercise would be intelligence-driven, community-focused and aimed at restoring lasting peace across the state.