FOLLOWING the recent directive by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, that the police should mop up illegal firearms and weapons in the country, the Enugu State Police Command said on Thursday that it recovered 148 arms and 206 cartridges in the State within one month.
Briefing newsmen in Enugu on the development, the State Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed DanMallam, while displaying the various arms and cartridges recovered before reporters, noted that the arms and cartridges were recovered through a detailed “stop and search operations’’ within the state.
DanMallam further disclosed, “only one gentleman had come over to me two days ago to surrender his arm to me. As you may recall, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, recently directed all the state commands to commence recovery of prohibited firearms.
He noted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the operational team for the recovery, Mr Frank Idu, had really done a great job within few weeks.
“I also use this opportunity to advise those still holding back their illegal arms and ammunition to surrender it to the command,’’ he said.
According to Danmallam, the total mop-up of all illegal arms and cartridges will check the incident of terrorism, insurgency, herders/farmers clashes, militancy, oil bunkering and violate conflicts in the country.
He, however, reiterated that anyone caught with illegal firearms and ammunition or do not come forward for his arms to be re-verified and revalidated would henceforth be prosecuted according to relevant laws.
The arms recovered included; 10 AK-47; 30 pump action gun; 33 locally made pistol single barrel and 36 locally made pistol double barrel.
Others are; 3 revolvers locally made cut to size short gun, 11 barrater pistols and 25 locally made single barrel long guns.
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