Police hand over 3,980 guns, others to arms control agency in Abuja
Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, Thursday, supervised the handing over of 3,980 small arms, in addition to 2,358 various ammunition to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW).
The arms comprise; 265 automatic rifles; 146 pump action guns; 1,909 locally fabricated pistols; 1,500 locally made single barrel guns; 98 locally made double barrel guns; 46 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs); 16 locally made rocket launchers; 2 locally made Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns; and 7 Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs).
Also, 2,358 calibres of ammunition and 1,057 assorted cartridges were equally handed over to the
Remarking at the handing-over ceremony, IGP Baba stressed that the exercise is part of the efforts of the Nigeria Police Force, as a lead agency in internal security management, to curb the threat of the proliferation of illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) trafficking within the country.
The IGP further stated that the police under his leadership has been evaluating and re-evaluating its operational strategies while strengthening institutional capacity in relation to the generation of actionable intelligence and the conduct of special operations directed at proactively checkmating the menace of arms proliferation.
IGP Baba, however, directed Commissioners of Police in charge of State Police Commands and their supervisory Assistant Inspectors-General of Police including Heads of Tactical Units of the Force, to aggressively sustain the mop-up exercise in order to actualize the mandate of the Federal Government on the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
The IGP further re-affirmed his assurance that the police ‘will continue to partner with the NCCSALW as both institutions strive to achieve the mandate of the Federal Government on the control of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the country.’