WITH preparations for the 2011 general elections now in advanced stage, the political jobbers are also strategizing for another kill. National Daily intelligence gathered that in most of the politically volatile states, the residents are already jittery even as rumuors of arms-build up spread. In recent months there have been police reports of weapon seizures from suspected gun-runners and other hoodlum which raise safety concerns as Nigerians look to elections campaigns and final balloting.
In the latest case of infiltration of weapons, officials of the State Security Service [SSS], Borno State have arrested and paraded five men in Maiduguri over possession of 54 pieces of AK47 rifles, one rocket and one grenade.
National Daily gathered that other items recovered from them included: cash of N4.8 million, a set of FRSC traffic jacket with face caps and hand gloves, 784 live ammunitions, three pieces of military long knives, nine military short knives, one computer set, a hammer, cutlass, set of leather luxurious travelling bags and a set of spanners stock in cartons and sacks/bags of fish concealed in the back seat of the Mercedes Benz car.
Already, security agencies have intensified investigations, there are suspected ploy by some influential politicians in the North to destabilize the forth coming general elections in 2011. On the agenda of these Northern elements is also an attempt to lure some Niger Delta militants back into the creek to disrupt the amnesty already achieved in the region.
The aim is to make the country ungovernable for President Goodluck Jonathan during the election period.
The five suspects paraded alongside the recovered items at the SSS Headquarters Maiduguri, were found in a red coloured Mercedes Benz car with registration number Lagos EW 93 AAA and a milk coloured Peugeot station-wagon with registration number Plateau AG 144 BUU on their way to Wukari in Taraba State according to the suspects who confessed to the press.
The State Director of SSS, Borno State, Alhaji Abdullahi Ahmed said the arrest was in two phrases.
He said during the first arrest that was made on July, 30, 2010, four men - Yakubu Sule, aged 25 from Taraba State who is a 400 level Sociology student of University of Maiduguri, Mono Musa, aged 25 from Taraba State and a Creative Arts student of University of Maiduguri, Daniel Chiyi aged 53 years from Jos South in Plateau State and Amos Akila from Taraba State and the leader of the group were nabbed.
According to the Director, Amos Akila who was arrested and charged last year in Kaduna for a similar offence, was arrested again barely a year he was granted bail. He has confessed to the SSS that he is the group leader working for one Mallam Zoro based in Maiduguri.
On August 12, 2010, the SSS Director said his men intercepted one Elisha Emmanuel, a driver from Ibbi LGC of Taraba State, aged 45 years as he was conveying 23 AK 47 rifles, 103 live ammunitions, 12 military knives inside cartoons and bags of fish and grains, inside his Peugeot car.
Elisha Emmanuel confessed that he was on an errand for one Mallam Josaya Awuri who is the owner of the said items and loaded the items inside the vehicle himself before he left and told him that he would meet him in Wukari.
The suspect further said that he is married with 12 children. He also said that he was a full-time commercial driver shuttling the Maiduguri-Wukari route.
According to him, Josya Awuri used to be his customer as he used to convey some of his goods to Wukari from Maiduguri in the past.
Elisha further confessed that he was aware of the arms stock in his engine and side doors by Malam Josaya but he complained to him that the items could be implicating but the owner of the items told him, there was no problem.
However, the four men that were arrested with the red Mercedes Benz car were in a bungalow near Giwa Military Barracks Maiduguri on 30th July 2010, and were about travelling out of town to Wukari in Taraba State. One of them, Yakubu Sule claimed innocence over the matter, while Amos confessed committing the offence. But Daniel said he was dragged into it by the others.
They however failed to disclose the source of the cash.
The smart arsenal concealment methods and networking of the gunrunners across the states makes it imperative for the security agencies to brace for the tough battle against smugglers as the clock ticks fast toward 2011 polls.
The last time such a seizure was made was in August 2007 when one shipment of illegal arms from the Ukraine bound for Nigeria contained 950 AK assault rifles, 150 under-barrel grenade launchers to suit AK-47, 1 million rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, 475,000 rounds of 4.45 mm ammunition, 500 pistols, 300,000 rounds of ammunition for the pistols, 8,000 hand grenades, 200 RPG launchers, 1,000 RPG projectiles, 500kg of TNT, plus various mortars and mines. This one consignment had 1.5 million rounds of ammunition in comparison to 28,745 rounds of ammunition achieved in the current amnesty. One illegal shipment had 60 times more
There are an estimated one million to three million small arms and light weapons in circulation in Nigeria. But, whereas illegal small arms are most commonly associated with militia activity in the Niger Delta, it is the civilians in the villages that possess the majority of weapons in the country. These weapons pose a significant challenge to law and order, political stability and a high risk to personal security.
The number of illegal small arms seized by Nigeria's customs is ridiculously small. In November 2003, Nigerian customs officials intercepted a lorry carrying 170,000 rounds of ammunition concealed in a cargo of charcoal that had crossed the border from Benin into Nigeria. This was a significant intervention but rare.
But with the ongoing lull in the Niger Delta region weapons seizures at border points known to be key ports of entry for shipments of illegal arms such as Lagos and Port Harcourt are uncommon.
The illegal arms dealers at the Aba, Onitsha and Enugu arms markets, National Daily gathered obtained their weapons shipments by road and operate with seeming impunity.
Informed sources revealed that security chiefs have been put on red alert to curb the possibility of further infiltration of the country's borders by hired arms smugglers.
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