Seizure and Recovery of Prohibited and Other Illegal Firearms and Ammunition is not Targeted at Southern Nigerians – Young Professionals

Nigerians have been urged to disregard the message been circulated on different WhatsApp that “the IG of Police has directed that civilians, vigilante groups, neighborhood watch security groups, hunters should surrender their firearms with the licenses in 21 days which has sent jitters down most Southern Nigerians, who perceive it as a sinister move aimed at disarming them so as to facilitate easy massacre and invasion by Fulanis who have killed no less than 3000 innocent Nigerians since 2015”.

In a press release in Abuja on Tuesday, the National Coordinator of United Young Professionals, Adewole Kehinde said to enlighten the ignorance of those sharing the false and injurious information on different WhatsApp group, the Inspector General of Police orders the commencement of mopping up, seizure and recovery from WRONG HANDS; prohibited and other illegal firearms and ammunition, weapons and devices locally fabricated or modified that can cause death or injury of person(s) throughout the country.

Adewole further reiterated that no reasonable Nigerians should be found with the below prohibited/illegal firearms and ammunition, specified under Chapter F.28 LFN 2004 Fire Arms Act: Prohibited Firearms i. Artillery ii. Apparatus for the discharge of any explosives of gas diffusing projectile. iii. Rocket weapons iv. Bombs and Grenades v. Machine-Guns and Machine-Pistols vi. Military rifles, namely; those of calibers 7.62mm, 9mm, .300 inches vii. Revolvers and Pistols whether rifled or unrifled (including flint-lock pistols and cap pistols). viii. Firearms such as Pump action gun of all categories ix. Any other firearms/lethal weapons fabricated to kill

“The 2004 Fire Arms Act under the 1999 Constitution is not made for a particular section of Nigeria but for all Nigerians and residents of Nigeria, Adewole said.

The statement issued by the Force PRO, CSP Jimoh Moshood was clear enough, even to illiterates that “members of the General Public, individuals and groups such as Vigilantes and neighbourhood watch group in any of the Thirty Six (36) States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) including the Seven Hundred and Seventy Four (774) Local Government Areas of the Federation or Town Unions, Hunters and Watch night men or any group or association under any capacity or guise other than statutory Security Agencies recognized and gazetted by the Federal Government of Nigeria to bear firearms of specified category; who are currently possessing and using prohibited/illegal firearms such as Pump action gun of all categories and the likes for whatsoever purpose are hereby warned and given Twenty One (21) days from today, 22nd February, 2018 to surrender them to the Commissioner of Police in the State they are domiciled, Adewole concluded.