A private truck laden with arms was intercepted Monday Kwara State by police officers at a check point. The truck was allegedly flagged down for routine check but the driver ignored the police and instead tried to zoom off only to be involved in an accident as he tried to escape.
On investigation, the trailer was found to be bearing arms. The police have impounded the truck while further investigations continued.
Meanwhile, with political activities in Nigeria on top gear, security operatives said they were worried over the amount of light-arms and other dangerous weapons entering Nigeria on daily basis since late last year.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP) Suleiman Abba, who stated this in his reaction to the recent seizure of a large cache of sophisticated weapons in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital in the North central Nigeria, also added that investigation into the truck-load of weapons has commenced.
Police intercepted a truck in Kwara State yesterday laden with arms and ammunition in Kosubosu, a border town in the Baruten Local Government Area of the state.
The Police boss spoke with our Correspondent in a telephone interview from Abuja, after receiving the case file, containing details and exhibits of the intercepted arms and ammunition from the Commissioner of Police (CP) Kwara State, Salihu Garba.
The Police boss also expressed deep concern over Nigeria’s emergence as a major destination not just a transit point for all kinds of arms and ammunition in the last 10 months.
Suleiman Abba, lamented the persistence of small arms trade targeting Nigeria, citing the presence of ethnic militia across the country as a major factor influencing the trade.
He stressed the need for immediate domestication and implementation of various international protocols and treaties on small arms and light weapons to which Nigeria was already a signatory and requested the support of relevant government agencies in the campaign to sensitise Nigerians against the illicit trade.
The Police boss also expressed regret that the motive of most manufacturers and marketers of small arms and light weapons across the world was to promote violence rather than facilitating peace.
However, he implored Nigerians to discountenance anyone or group that promotes violence. He called for the immediate domestication of international protocols and treaties aimed at stemming the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.
The Police boss stated further that, already the Force has constituted a special squad that would go into all nook and crannies against manufacturers, marketers and users of small arms in the country.
