Between January 2020 and September 2022, a total number of 46, 366 arms and ammunition were recovered by Bauchi Police Command from various groups of non-state actors.
According to TheICIR, the statistics earned Bauchi State first position among other states with records of recovered firearms.
Bauchi was followed by Anambra with 31,711, Delta with 14,486, Zamfara with 4,250 and Cross River with 3,136. All these states recovered the arms within the same period.
While Akwa Ibom, Osun, Ekiti and Ebony were recorded as the states with the lowest number of illegal arms recovered by the police with 347, 219, 154, and 141, respectively.
Reacting, spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the force is doing a lot in the area of mopping up arms.
He, however, confessed that the police cannot ascertain the specific figure of illegal arms in circulation.
Major-General Abba Muhammed Dikko (retired) President of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), had earlier announced that the centre would destroy over 3,000 firearms seized from terrorists across different parts of the country.
Briefing the media in Kaduna State, Dikko stated that the exercise would be carried out under the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), noting that most of the weapons comprising AK-47 and AK-49 to be destroyed were confiscated in the past 18 months across the country.
proliferation of arms has become a disturbing issue across Nigeria despite attempts to curb it.
In September 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari sent two bills — Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWS) Bill 2021 and Explosives Bill 2021 — to the senate. However, the senate passed a bill seeking for the establishment of NCCSALW.
Despite the relative peace enjoyed in Bauchi, the state is not excluded from kidnappings, banditry and other vices.
The new Commissioner of Police for Bauchi Police Command, Alhassan Aminu, in his maiden press briefing after assuming office vowed to take the fight against bandits and kidnappers to their hideouts.
WHERE ARE THE FIREARMS?
About four months ago, WikkiTimes exclusively reported that over 100 firearms were missing from the command’s armory. But we understand that the outgone police boss, Umar Sanda, covered it up under the guise of internal investigations.
WikkiTimes’ report was further corroborated when Yakubu Dogara, a lawmaker representing Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency, alleged that some officers of the command were involved in gunrunning business with some individuals who were threatening his life.
A day after the report, the command via Twitter responded that it was investigating the matter. Three months after, the outcome of the investigation has not been communicated.
WikkiTimes contacted Mohammed Ahmed Wakil, the command’s spokesperson, to know the outcome of the investigation, but he is yet to respond to an enquiry sent to him.
