The police in Taraba State on Friday said they had so far recovered 56 rifles and 300 live ammunition in the state, following the directive by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, that all prohibited firearms be mopped up from unauthorized persons.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. David Akinremi, disclosed this while parading some suspects at the command headquarters in Jalingo.
Akinremi told journalists that the command, upon receipt of the IGP directive, constituted a task force headed by DCP Operations, Faleye Olaleye, who swung into action, leading to the arrest and recovery of the arms and ammunition.
He said, “A good number of people responded and surrendered their weapons. However, some criminally-minded persons are still holding back their arms after the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum for people to surrender their weapons.
“Following intensive surveillance, our men arrested a Fulani man, Umar Abu, from Karim Lamido Local Government Area with one AK-47 rifle with nine rounds of ammunition.
“Other weapons recovered from others include one G3 rifle, two K2 rifles, three LAR riffles, two pump-action rifles, two double-barrelled rifles, 13 single-barrelled rifles, 28 locally made pistols and 300 live ammunition,” he said.
The commissioner said the task force, acting on intelligence, raided a criminal hideout along the Maimolo-Yerima Road in Bali Local Government Area and arrested six suspects believed to be bandits terrorising the area.
Akinremi explained that the mop-up exercise was still ongoing and would continue until all illegally-acquired firearms in the hands of individuals were recovered.
