The Katsina State police command has denied that the state vigilante was given the approval to obtain AK-47 rifles saying they were only trained to defend themselves against bandits who used the rifle to commit crimes.
Reacting to Ondo State Governor Akeredolu’s recent statement lamenting why Amotekun were denied to arm themselves but only for the federal government to give approval for Katsina State vigilante, the spokesperson of the command, Gambo Isah remarked that the vigilante in the state was not licensed to use AK-47.
According to him, the vigilante in the state were only trained for self-defence, saying, there is no member of the vigilante in the state that is using AK-47.
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- Vigilante not licensed to use AK-47, says Police
- Vigilante not licensed to use AK-47, says Police
“The vigilantes were trained on other arms and combat maneuveres. It is not that they were given a license or that the federal government has approved that they should use AK-47 rifles. They were just trained on how to defend themselves.
“And to be categorical, there is no member of the vigilante in Katsina that is using that kind of weapon. It wasn’t issued to them by the federal government or state government. They were just trained. What I know is what I am telling you.
He also said, that the police were not involved in the training of the vigilante and were not issued AK-47 rifles.
Isah, however, revealed that the vigilante were trained on how to defend themselves because bandits and terrorists are using AK-47 rifles.
When asked to comment on the next line of action after the training and whether the vigilante should be trained on the use of AK-47, the police image maker gave no comment.
However, he insisted that the vigilante were trained for only a week to stand up to terrorists who use AK-47s in their nefarious activities.