Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
Edo State Commissioner of Police, Dankwara Mohammed, has given a marching order to the officers and men of the command to mop up and arrest anyone in possession of illegal fire arms of any kinds in the state.
He also said that those who willingly come forth to submit theirs would be spared.
The Commissioner of Police, Dankwara, said this through the Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor.
According to the CP” the command has commenced mopping up exercise to rid the state of all illegal and prohibited firearms in circulation; noting that those who take advantage of this opportunity will not face any arrest or sanction.
“I warned that the possessor of illegal arms who refuse to render his/ her arms will not be spared and will be made to face the full wrath of the law when caught, hence, I have given a marching order to officers and men of the Command to arrest anyone found in possession of firearms of any type – be it a pistol, rifle, air weapon, or imitation (i.e. locally made guns, dummy guns, etc), for prosecution with the offence of unlawful possession of firearm.
“I call on residents to report all suspicious firearms related activities and its possessor to the Police”,
Mohammed said the order to mop up the fire arms is coming from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Olukayode Egbetokun, as part of efforts to savage the proliferation of illegal firearms in the country.
He called on members of the public who have illegal and prohibited firearms in their possession to render such to nearby Police Station, Area Command or the State Headquarters.
He assures all individuals involved in the wrongful possession of arms and light weapons that a willful submission of such illegally possessed weapons to police will attract “NO SANCTION” to the remittees of these arms for the obedience to the rules of law.
He said this exercise is aimed at reducing the numbers of illegal guns in circulation across the state, and also to stop firearms from getting into the wrong hands and being used by criminal elements to commit crimes in our society or anywhere else in the country, hence keeping the State safe for all.
The CP urges the good people of Edo State to rise up and report anyone with illegal arms to him, his Deputies or through the Police command’s dedicated telephone numbers for prompt response and action while assuring that the identities of informants will be treated with utmost confidentiality.