Operatives of the joint military intervention force,
code-named Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, have uncovered another
firearms manufacturing plant in Benue State.
The operatives also
successfully arrested the arms manufacturer alongside nine others,
including a wanted alleged kidnap kingpin and cattle rustlers operating
between Benue and Nasarawa states axis.
Parading the suspects at
the OPWS headquarters in Makurdi, the Force Commander, Major General
Adeyemi Yekini, said six of the suspects were arrested in Nasarawa
State, while four others were apprehended in Benue State. He explained
that the arms manufacturing plant and the fabricator, Shekwa Terna, were
discovered in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State, following a
tip-off.
General Yekini noted that “our operation is currently
centered on breaking the supply chain of weapon proliferation in the
country, because the increasing spate of arms manufacturing is alarming
and it is fuelling criminal activities in the country.
“We are
targeting weapon manufacturers as a way of breaking the supply chain
with a view to reducing the amount of weapons in circulation and
curtailing the spate of armed banditry and other criminal activities in
the country.”
He added that Seidu Muhammadu, a notorious kidnap
kingpin and cattle rustler, along with some of his accomplices, were
nabbed in Nasarawa State while Moses Dzever, a gang member of the wanted
militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, alias Gana, with one other member
responsible for Gana’s logistics, was also arrested in Benue.
The
arms manufacturer, who confessed to the crime, said he took over the
business from his elder brother after he was arrested by the military
months backs.
In his words: “I learned the work from my elder
brother, who had earlier been apprehended. After his arrest, I took over
the business. I was sleeping in my house when they came and arrested
me. I sell the rifles to people in my community, while I sell the
pistols to a client from Onitsha.
“Sometimes, when my client from
Onitsha comes, he buys up to 15 weapons at once. So far, I have sold
over 50 weapons since I started. But I now regret my action and wished I
never went into this in the first place.”