NCS seizes 2,671 arms; over 530,000 ammunition between 2017, 2018
Inspite of claims by security agencies of making strenuous efforts to check the menace, gunrunners have continued to device various means of smuggling illegal arms and ammunition into the country, heightening insecurity in different parts of Nigeria.
The gunrunners, it was learnt, are always making efforts to stay one step ahead of the security agencies in order to remain in their illicit arms business.
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Controller Joseph Attah, told our correspondent that the NCS had recovered about 2,671 arms and 530,233 ammunitions from 2017 till date.
Also, the Public Relations Officer of the NCS Federal Operations Unit, Ikeja, Lagos, Jerry Atta, said the unit recovered 661 pump action rifles in the area in January, last year.
They come in with arms and different kinds of smuggled items …They come in speed boats late in the night and we would see them discharging goods, including arms and ammunition
Speaking on the modus operandi of the gunrunners, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, said the police had been employing intelligence and information gathering techniques to detect illegal arms and ammunition.
Oti, a chief superintendent of police, said, “Although it is the work of Customs, who are at the borders, to detect and arrest smugglers, police have also done a lot about arresting people carrying arms. We have recovered about 300 arms this year.
“The arms smugglers usually conceal them in one thing or the other to deceive security men from detecting the arms, especially in vehicles. You can see how Lagos State Police Command recovered bags of tramadol concealed under vehicle spare parts, which were neatly packed in a lorry. That is the way arms smugglers operate.”
Some of the security operatives, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, blamed the country’s porous borders and illegal border posts across the country for the menace.
A top police officer in Abuja, who pleaded not to be identified, said, “The problem comes from those in the corridors of power. I’m a police officer. When you stop a vehicle, wanting to conduct a search on it, the driver would call somebody who would intimidate you; asking you about your interest in searching the vehicle. The security men will only say ‘I’m sorry, sir’ and allow the vehicle with whatever it is conveying to go away.”
He said the high volume of arms in the hands of unathorised persons across the country compelled the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, to recently order every such person to surrender them to the nearest police station.
A security expert, who also spoke under the condition of anonymity, said, “Which security man will stop a bus with a bold inscription ‘Missionary’ for any search? The issue of escorts in security uniform sitting in front of buses, lorries, trucks, tankers and other vehicles conveying goods across the country is very wrong. They are messing up that spirit of espirit de corps- a language that unites uniformed men. For example, if an arms dealer is carrying arms and ammunition from Seme to Maidugiri, and he has a uniformed man escorting the vehicle, what will security men on the road do? They will allow the vehicle to move on without searching it.
“There was a time the Lagos State Police Command recovered guns concealed in the soles of imported shoes. The suspect was paraded. There was a time the policemen attached to the Federal SARS, Adeniji Adele Headquarters Annex recovered guns and over one hundred thousand (100, 000) ammunition, which were concealed in bags of charcoal. The lorry carrying the goods from Republic of Benin enroute Onitsha had passed through Lagos and Oyo states. The vehicle was intercepted in Ondo State and brought back to Lagos. The arms dealer was arrested and charged to court. Imagine, if over 100, 000 ammunition had entered this country illegally, the kind of havoc the importers would have caused with it.”
A custom officer at Seme border, who also pleaded not to be identified, said, “Politicians are part of the problem. Who are the people buying guns for touts? Are they not the same politicians? They have money and they don’t want to leave power. So, they use the hoodlums during the elections. They will not take back the guns from them. Now, where did they get the guns from? Who sold the guns to them? The government will usually look the other way if it concerns a politician. So, if the politicians are importing guns, when you stop a vehicle for a search, one big man will call, asking you about your interest in what the vehicle is carrying. If you still want to waste time about it, be prepared to go to Sambisa forest.
“You, journalists have witnessed how many times Customs recorded great achievements in the area of recovery of arms and ammunition. I want to remind you about the sophisticated weapons Customs recovered at the Apapa Port. The cache of arms and ammunition was so huge. It included rocket launchers, grenades and Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), among others. Later, it was suspected that the weapons were imported from Iran. Recently, we recovered another cache of arms at Seme.”
A Psychologist, Dr. Victor James, said that the insecurity across the country had resulted in a situation where some citizens illegally seek arms and ammunition to protect themselves.
This, James said, had encouraged gunrunners to continue to engage in their illicit business.He said, “If the sales of arms and ammunition is booming, it is because of what is happening in Nigeria. A situation whereby terrorists are killing defenseless people continually will trigger the idea of owning your own arms. You heard what General Theophilous Danjuma said about defending yourself. Such comment is enough to encourage people to buy arms.
“The smugglers are very smart. They can conceal them in something and unless you’re a very intelligent officer, you cannot detect it. If you organise some women to be crying inside a bus when they see policemen, which policeman will like to search such a vehicle. They can successfully smuggle arms into the country pretending to be going for a funeral. They can print obituary posters of themselves and paste them on the vehicle just to deceive the police and other security agents.”
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, recently went to Igando, Lagos State, to hold a meeting with the residents and other stakeholders over alleged insecurity in that axis.
Imohimi told our correspondent that he had to visit the black spots, adding that even the creek at Igando could be used for all sorts of criminal activities, including smuggling of arms and ammunition into Lagos.
The police commissioner, who vowed to block all illegal activities in Igando and every other part of the state, also warned all those illegally in possession of arms to “surrender them because if the police see you with gun, the new order is that the police should gun the person down. Parents and guardians should talk to their people; if not, police will not hesitate to gun such a person down. What are they doing with guns if they are not armed robbers?”
One of the residents of Igando Creek, Aliu Olanrewaju, told our correspondent that suspected criminals from as far as neighbouring Republic of Benin and Togo usually took refuge in the area.
“They come in with arms and different kinds of smuggled items. Here is there entrance and exit route – this creek. They come in speed boats late in the night and we would see them discharging goods, including arms and ammunition. There’s nothing we can do. We thank God the Commissioner of Police was here to address the situation. Police at Igando cannot face them. They were afraid to challenge them. Igando policemen cannot do anything here. Now that Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, is bringing stronger team, we are going to have some relief,” Olanrewaju said.
An economist, Prof. Emmanuel Eboe said because of bloodletting, Nigeria has lost many great people that would have contributed their quota to the development of the country.
Eboe said the farmers in the North East and Middle belt were now afraid to go to their farms.
He said, “Those who are supposed to be in their different farms ran away from their various communities because of terrorists – whether Boko Haram or herdsmen-who usually attack people in their farms, raping women and killing even both children and women. The result such bloodbaths are causing now is scarcity of foodstuff. It is also affecting the country’s economy.” Eboe said.
