5,154 Firearms, Ammunition Mopped Up in 4 Months –DHQ

The Armed Forces of Nigeria has recovered no fewer than 5,154 arms and rounds of ammunition from non-state actors across the various theatres of operations in the country.

The arms and ammunition were recovered between June and September this year.

A document from the Defence Headquarters sighted by our correspondent on Sunday stated that between June and August, a total of 501 arms and 3,269 rounds of ammunition were recovered, while in September a total of 293 arms and 1091 rounds of ammunition have so far been recovered.

The PUNCH reported that worsening insecurity in many parts of the country had been attributed to proliferation of arms and ammunition.

The military report read: “Troops recovered a total number of 501 weapons, 3,269 assorted kinds of ammunition and 674 other equipment. The breakdown of these arms and ammunition is as follows; 117 AK-47 rifles, one AK-49 rifle, five revolvers, 28 fabricated rifles, 11 fabricated pistols, 57 Dane guns, 23 pistols, 24 pump-action guns, three FN rifles, three GPMGs, one double-barrel gun, one Barreta pistol, one G3 rifle, two HK21 rifles one IED, 123 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 2,008 rounds of 7.62mm special, 30 rounds of 7.62mm x 39mm, 512 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm, 190 rounds of 5.5mm, 39 rounds of 9mm, 29 rounds of PKM, and 19 cartridges.

“Troops equally recovered one RPG tube, three hand grenades, one locally-made hand grenade, one locally-made bomb, two rifle butts, one AK47 barrel, one GMPG barrel, 2 MG links, 98 AK-47 magazines, two G3 magazines, two FN magazines, two PKT magazines, two LMG magazines, two tear gas launchers among others.

“In September, troops recovered 216 assorted weapons and 443 assorted ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 62 AK-47 rifles, seven pump-action guns, 19 Dane guns, 3 Berreta pistols, 10 locally-fabricated rifles, five locally-made pistols, 399 IED detonator primers, 225 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 10 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 13 round of 9mm ammo, 20 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm, 57 cartridges, 49 magazines,

“Troops recovered a total number of 77 weapons and 658 assorted kinds of ammunition. The breakdown is as follows: 53 AK47 rifles, two AK-47 rifles loaded with eight rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 18 locally-fabricated rifles, one Beretta pistol, three pump-action guns, 650 rounds of 7.62mm special ammo, 50 AK-47 magazines, two rounds of 9mm ammo, six rounds of 7.62 NATO, among others.”

A security expert, Oladele Fajana, said more of the weapons in circulation if recovered would reduce the insecurity confronting the country.

He said: “If there are no weapons, criminals cannot terrorise the citizens. If the security agencies can mop up 70 per cent of the arms in the country, then the issue of insecurity in the country will have been half-solved. The military should not relax, they should go recover more weapons.”