To sleep and wake up everyday in Nigeria is a miracle. Nigerians are living dangerously under the proverbial keg of gunpowder, ready to explode. From Lagos to Maiduguri, Port Harcourt to Kafanchan, some unscrupulous citizens are stockpiling deadly arms and ammunition and are ready to use them at the slightest opportunity.Reports from the police and other security agencies across the country revealed the recovery of an avalanche of both light and heavy arms from Nigerians. The weapons of death are in the hands of ordinary citizens, petty thieves, armed robbers, thugs, religious extremists, militants and terrorists. These agents of death are putting the country in tethers, showing the danger signal that relevant government agencies have a lot more to do to rid the nation of illegal firearms.
Just recently, the army intercepted a petrol tanker loaded with arms in Kebbi State. Items recovered in the oil tanker include three AK 47 rifles, one RPG-2, nine AK 47 magazines, two bombs, three RPG chargers and 790 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunitions.
Reports by Sunday Sun correspondents across the country revealed a shocking discovery of a large quantity of arms by security agencies. The sordid details from the states are recorded below:
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Rivers State From Port Harcourt Tony John reports that the synergy existing among security agencies in Rivers State is yielding results with the recovery of numerous arms and ammunition as well as arrest of suspects. The Police Command, in particular, had recorded tremendous breakthrough, with the refurbishment of over 12 operational vehicles, under the Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu.
Between the months of February and July this year, no fewer than 137 firearms, 4,663 rounds of ammunition and 384 cartridges were recovered by the police. Within this period, 242 suspected armed robbers and 77 kidnappers were arrested. Also, no fewer than 50 cultists were nabbed.
In the month of July, in particular, 38 arms, 2,631 rounds of ammunition, 182 cartridges and 75 magazines were recovered from hoodlums. Eighty-eight suspected armed robbers and 16 kidnap suspects and cultists were arrested. Two GPMG rifles with 593 rounds of 7.62 live ammunition, eight AK47 rifles with 1,635 rounds of 7.62 live ammunition were recovered from them. Six AK49 rifles, one G3 rifle, two pump action guns, 22 locally made guns and 182 live cartridges were also recovered.
Imo State
A report filed by George Onyejiuwa said the police in Imo recently recovered a cache of arms and ammunition in Mbaitolu Local Council Area of the state and arrested two brothers who were in charge of the depot. No fewer than 12 pump action rifles, 750 cartridges and other guns were recovered.
Osun State
Bamigbola Gbolagunte reports that the Osun Police Command recovered various arms and ammunition used by armed robbers and other criminals operating in various parts of the state.
Some of the arms and ammunition recovered from the robbers, according to the state Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Dorothy Gimba, included automatic pistols, locally made guns, dane guns, double-barrel guns and cartridges. Mrs Gimba in a chat disclosed that the arms and ammunition were recovered mainly from armed robbery suspects who were nabbed by the police in various parts of the state.
She explained that the arms used by the robbers, according to findings by the command, were procured from outside the state, she added that efforts were being made by the state police command to apprehend those selling the arms and ammunition to the robbers.
According to her, most of the suspects arrested confessed that they sourced their arms and ammunition from Lagos, Oyo and Edo states where they had been operating before coming to the state.
Kaduna State
In Kaduna, Noah Ebije reports that the Kaduna State Police Command had in the month of June alone paraded a good number of hired assassins and armed robbers, just as it recovered a large cache of arms and ammunition from the criminals.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Olufemi Adenaike said detectives from the anti-robbery squad engaged bandits in fierce gun battles which resulted in the death of two bandits and the seizure of dangerous weapons, which include seven AK 47 rifles, one single barrel short gun, 1,001 rounds of live ammunition of AK 47 rifle, 30 rounds of live T06 ammunition and 12 live cartridges.
Kogi State
Arms and ammunition found in wrong hands are more common in Ebira land in the central senatorial district and parts of Igala land in the Eastern senatorial district of Kogi State, reports Emmanuel Adeyemi.
Sunday Sun investigations revealed that with the build up to the 2011 general elections, over 1,000 guns were recovered from hoodlums most of whom were political thugs in Ebira land alone.
It was learnt that the state government then headed by former governor Ibrahim Idris had owing to rampant killings and hostilities in the area set up a disarmament committee which gave money ranging from N300,000 to N500,000 to those in possession of illegal arms who voluntarily surrendered them.
Investigations revealed that most of the political leaders in Ebira land have their own ‘boys’ who they provided arms to attack their opponents at any given time.
It was also learnt that the sharp clannish differences in Ebira land makes some clan heads to procure arms for their youths either to attack a troublesome clan or to defend themselves whenever there is any crisis.
It is believed that arms and ammunition are still in large quantity in Ebira land.
A community leader in Okene, Mohammed Idrisu said the quantity of arms still in Ebira land surpasses that of the Chari Maigumeri Barracks in Lokoja.
Investigations also revealed that there are currently arms and ammunition in wrong hands in Igala land especially at Ejule, Ankpa, Ayingba and Igalamela/Odolu areas.
The hoodlums in these areas are believed to be on the payroll of some top politicians in the state.
Between September 2011 and July 2012, at least 10 commercial banks and police stations were bombed in the state by hoodlums.
The banks are located at Kabba, Iyara, Aiyetoro and Gbede in the Western Senatorial District and Okene, Ogori and Ogaminana in the Central Senatorial District. Some are also located at Ankpa and Ayingba in the Eastern Senatorial District.
During the period, bomb factories were discovered in Kabba, Okene and Eika-Adagu. Contrary to reports, most of the bomb factories especially that of Kabba were only used for robbing banks and bombing police stations and had no link with Boko Haram as alleged.
The then commissioner of police now in Imo State, Mohammed Musa Katsina had told newsmen that police investigations showed that the bombs manufactured in the state were used for criminal purposes and not for terrorism or insurgency.
During Katsina’s brief stay in the state, it was further learnt there was a lull in arms proliferation as he made use of robust intelligence network to smash robbery and kidnap gangs.
The current police commissioner, Hillary Opara is also doing his best to bring criminal activities to the barest minimum.
This year alone, about 67 armed robbers and kidnappers were arrested in the state with more than 80 others arrested on sundry charges including murder, manslaughter and assault.
Similarly, over 70 guns and dangerous weapons with more than 2,000 ammunition had been recovered from the hoodlums.
Kwara State
Reports from Layi Olarewaju in Ilorin, Kwara State indicate that most of the arms found in the state are imported from the USA, Germany and others through porous borders.
According to the Kwara Police Command spokesman, Olufemi Fabode, most of the arms and ammunition are imported, while some are made in Nigeria by local fabricators.
Benue State
From Makurdi Rose Ejembi reports that the police in Benue State said they have recovered over 50 arms with several ammunition from robbers and other criminal suspects across the state in the last three months.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Daniel Ezeala, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in a chat with Sunday Sun said the recovery of arms and ammunition was one of the areas the state police command had recorded a huge success in recent times.
While maintaining that it was through the doggedness of the Commissioner of Police in the state, Adams Audu, that arms were recovered from wrong hands, the PPRO said the police in the state had intensified efforts to record more success in that line.
He, however, disclosed that illegal arms possession was more pronounced in the Tiv speaking area than other areas of the state.
Ezeala warned criminals and criminally-minded persons in the state to either retrace their steps or move out of the state or be made to face the wrath of the law as, according to him, the police command would not leave any stone unturned until all criminals in the state had been apprehended and brought to book.
Bayelsa State
Possession of illegal arms and ammunition in Bayelsa State is alarming, reports Femi Folaranmi. Though militancy is no longer fashionable, the increasing wave of sea-piracy, crude oil theft and kidnapping is fuelling the arms trade.
Security sources said the easy access to arms by criminals in Bayelsa State should be of concern to those interested in the sustenance of a peaceful environment in the state.
Investigations revealed that the Joint Task Force (JTF) Operation Pulo Shield has recovered a handful of arms and ammunition, which it has remained silent on because of security concerns. A reliable source noted that the AK 47 rifles and 34 live rounds of 7.62mm ammo recovered during a raid in the hideout of suspected kidnappers is a child’s play compared to weapons recovered from suspected oil thieves but which JTF has not made public.
Checks also indicated that some of the arms and ammunition now in circulation were those the ex-militants did not surrender and those stolen from security operatives.
Recently, the Bayelsa State Police security outfit, Operation Doo Akpoo, acting on a tip-off, recovered a cache of arms buried in a house at Koluama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. Five pump action guns, two AK 47 rifles and 1,780 assorted ammunition as well as 19 magazines were recovered.
This development forced Governor Henry Seriake Dickson to raise alarm recently that crude oil theft was fuelling the proliferation of small and light arms in Bayelsa State.
Plateau State
From Plateau State, Mariam Aleshinloye-Agboola reports that the crisis-prone Plateau has been a fertile ground for arms trade. Apart from the religious and tribal clashes that had bedeviled the state for years, the constant raids of villages by Fulani herdsmen from within and from neighbouring countries have also been responsible for the proliferation of arms in the state.
Statistics available revealed that from January till date, 70 firearms were recovered by the police from armed robbery and other crime suspects in the state. Of this number, only 18 of them, such as AK 47 rifles are foreign made while the rest like shot guns were fabricated locally. A total of 52 cartridges and 427 RDS cartridges were also recovered from the criminals within the same period. The Special Task Force on Jos crisis known as Operation Safe Haven has also recovered quite a number of arms. According to the spokesman of the outfit, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, the light weapons recovered from the attacks were usually handed over to the police together with the suspects but the automatic rifles and other sophisticated weapons were usually kept in its armory except when it had to release them to the police as exhibits. Though he would not give the breakdown of the number recovered, he said they were quite a lot.
Giving an insight into why weapons get into the wrong hands, the state commissioner of police said the country is surrounded by crisis prone countries such as Liberia, Mali and Sierra Leone and the porous nature of Nigerian borders makes it easy for illegal firearms to get into the country. Most of the arms, he said, found easy access to trouble-prone states like Plateau.
Also most of the firearms recovered from suspects of raids or car snatching-gangs or communal warlords are locally fabricated. A few weeks ago, for instance, the police smashed an arms manufacturing syndicate based in Barkinladi. The group of boys produced arms and sell directly to armed robbers for between N30,000 and N50,000. Also in the same gang were policemen who steal from the police armoury and sell to criminals. The activities of such dubious policemen also contribute to the possession of firearms by those who should not have access to them. Two of such policemen were recently dismissed from the Plateau State police command.
Kano State
Perhaps the most shocking and the largest of the arms and ammunition recovered recently were from a home in Kano State. The assorted weapons were neatly packed in coolers and hidden in an underground bunker. The arms were linked to the dangerous but popular terrorist organization, Hezbollah. Items recovered include 17 AK 47 rifles, 10,921 live rounds of AK 47 ammunition, 76 military type hand grenades.
Ogun State
Moshood Adebayo in Abeokuta reports that the synergy among security agencies in Ogun State has largely been responsible for the low seizure of arms and ammunition in the state by the state Police Command.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on a regular basis seized contrabands, which included arms and ammunition as well as dangerous weeds like Cannabis Sativa weighing thousands of kilograms.
In one of its seizures, the Command intercepted 3,000 shotgun cartridges being smuggled into the country through a bush path in Agosasa, Ipokia Local government Area of the state.
While assuring of pro-active measures by its command, the state Comptroller of the Customs, Prince Ade Dosunmu, said the command was more determined “to check any possible infiltration or movement of not only contrabands, but arms and ammunition.”
Recently, the Command arrested 12 notorious armed bandits including a self-acclaimed pastor of a Pentecostal church in the state. Items recovered from the gang who were arrested at Idologbo village Igbesa in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state included sophisticated weapons such as pump action rifles, two double-barrel guns and locally made pistols as well as ammunition of different calibres.
Ekiti State
From Ado-Ekiti Charles Adegbite reports that the common arms and ammunition often recovered from armed robbers, cult members, kidnappers and other criminals, are mostly locally made guns, notably shot guns or double-barrels.
Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Victor Babayemi told Sunday Sun that, AK-47 guns were not among the guns they recovered, saying “no rifle or automatic guns were among the arms recovered from robbers and other gun men in recent time. According to him, dane guns were recently recovered from robbers along Ise-Ekiti, saying “we don’t have automatic rifles, the ones we seized occasionally were from cult members.”
No specific number of those arms and ammunition was given because the command said a lot of arms and ammunition recovered from suspects were often left at the area command headquarters where arrests were made.
Katsina State
Andy Asemota reports that locally made guns, cutlasses, knives and sticks are the common arms recovered by police and other security agencies in Katsina State.
Suspected criminals hardly lose their Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), high calibre rifles or sub-machine guns to security agencies in the state but they account for the largest part of what make the criminal gangs that terrorized the state on few occasions within three months ago and late last year tick.
The majority of the firearms in few wrong hands in Katsina are mainly dane guns, although some are equipped with a capacity to fire over six bullets in rapid succession.
Most of the guns are bought from local blacksmiths or middlemen. Some of the dane guns are believed to be valued at between N15,000 and N50,000 depending on their sophistication and calibre.
-TheSun
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