From Angela Nkwo-Akpolu (Owerri), Hafsat Adebayo (Bauchi), Blessing Ibunge (Port Harcourt), Kenneth Iguisi (Benin)
The Nigeria Police have continued to make steady progress in the ongoing nationwide mop up of arms on the order of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Ibrahim Idris.
In their operations in Bauchi, Delta, Edo, Imo and Rivers States, the police recorded massive arms haul in the affected states.
In Imo State, for instance, the Police Commissioner, Mr. Chris Ezike, on Tuesday displayed 2,615 guns, and firearms recovered through voluntary submission and arrests.
Ezike told newsmen in Owerri, at the command’s headquarters, that he police recovered 168 guns, 99 cartridges, 2,323 ammunition, 25 empty magazines. He added that 19 English pistols, 19 locally made pistols and 36 guns, 9 AK 47 rifles, and two AR 70 rifles were also recovered.
Others are 28 pump action, three Madison rifles, 11 double barrel guns, 99 cartridges, 2,323 ammunition; and 25 empty magazines.
According to him, the mop-up has led to “a reduction in the number of light and small but dangerous weapons within the Imo polity; a reduction in crime of various dimensions such as kidnapping, armed robbery, cultism/cult-related violence and brigandage.”
Ezike said that the deadline for the voluntary submission of arms had been extended to allow more people to comply with the IGPa��s directive.
In Bauchi State, the police command has confiscated 83 illegal firearms and 702 live ammunition from suspected criminals.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Kamal Datti Abubakar, said that the recovery of the illegal weapons followed the special operations carried out by the Joint Task Enforcement Team inaugurated by the command to check the proliferation of prohibited arms.
On February 21, 2018, Idris issued 21 days ultimatum (now extended to 30th April, 2018) to the general public, individuals and groups who are in possession and using prohibited/illegal/firearms to surrender them to the commissioner of police in their states.
The Rivers State Police Command has also recovered a total of 179 arms during disarmament in the state.
The police equally recovered 437 ammunition and 275 cartridges in the state.
Briefing journalists on Tuesday at the Police Headquarters in Port Harcourt, the Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, said that the action was based on directive of the IGP on arms control in the country.
Zaki said: “On February 21, 2018 the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, issued a directive on arms control and mop-up of all illegal acquired firearms in the country.
“As a follow-up to the unambiguous directive of the IGP, I constituted an eight- man taskforce headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) to enforce the IGP’s directives.
“In carrying out the mandate on the arms mop-up, the taskforce embarked on sensitisation and advocacy visits to local government areas. So far, the compliance has been commendable with the recovery of 179 arms, 437 ammunition, and a total of 275 cartridges,” he said.
Similarly, the Delta State Police Command has uncovered 3,784 arms from different locations across the state.
The Police Commissioner, Mr. Mohammad Mustafa, also paraded armed robbery suspects, cultists and recovered massive arms.
Mustafa said that the police arrested one Raphael Reuben 23 years, Okeke Christian, 24 years, and Godstime Solokwie, 20, , on a tip-off, adding that one fabricated revolver pistol, one locally made single barrel pistol, four 9mm , ammunition, two live cartridges, one Samsung laptop and two mobile phones were recovered from them.
The Edo State Command on Tuesday has paraded 28 suspects arrested for various degrees of offences across the state.
Ten guns, 15 live ammunition, 32 assorted phones, two cars and other items were displayed at the event.
The Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, confirmed the arrest of the suspects for various offences ranging from armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and farmers/herdersa�� crisis in the state.
Kokumo said: “Tahiru Usman was arrested in connection with the killing of one Pastor Pius Eromosele initially kidnapped with two others at Odighi community in Ovia North East Local Government Areal, Benin City. One Dane gun, one cutlass and a dagger were recovered from him.
“Similarly, the Police at Auchi arrested one Fulani herder with some charms, while others escaped. They kidnapped one Idris Mohammed, but was rescued unhurt by the policemen. Efforts are on to arrest others and to recover their arms.
“In the same vein, five members of armed robbery gang who have been terrorising Plymouth Road in Benin City were arrested on a distress call by the people. Two single barrel, and double barrel cut to size guns, three live cartridges, one Mercedes Benz car suspected to be stolen were recovered from them,a�? he said.
IGP Order: Police harvest arms in Bauchi, Delta, Edo, Imo, Rivers
