Kaduna (Nigeria) – Police have paraded two suspects in Kaduna, northern Nigeria for allegedly using their residence as illegal manufacturing plant for arms and ammunitions.
The Police also alleged that the two are involved in supplying arms to armed bandits in southern Kaduna.
According to Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, when the suspects were arrested and their residence raided, some items were found, including two locally made AK-47 rifles, one locally made SMG rifle and its magazine, two locally made pistols, two police coloured AK-47 magazines, one locally made AK-47 magazine, 20 live 0.36 special revolver ammunition, three live 7.62mm long lar ammunitions, 11 live 7.62mm short, AK-47 ammunition and three live cartridges.
Others are one live 5.5mm, T.6 ammunition, 14 empty shells of 7.62mm short, AK-47 ammunition, 17 empty shells of 0.36 special revolver pistols ammunition, one expanded cartridges, some parts of locally made AK-47 rifle and parts of other rifles, one drilling machine used in production of rifles, one hand driller, some instrument for fabrication of rifles and some assorted charms.
However, one of the alleged suspected manufacturers of the illegal arms, James Kinze, told journalists that they embarked on the venture to protect themselves against bandits that have continued to terrorise their areas unabated.
“Arm bandits have continued to terrorise our area and killing our people, so since we could not get adequate protection from the security agencies, we decided to produce locally made arms to protect ourselves and our people from the recurring attacks by such arm bandits” he said.
Twenty other suspects were paraded for various offences ranging from, arm robbery, criminal conspiracy, and various acts of terrorism.
The command also said it arrested some suspected armed robbers at Dangwa village and recovered four stolen vehicles, one AK-47 rifle and other weapons from them.
The Police Commissioner said his men have apprehended the ringleader of the armed gang, Umar Usman, alias Zidane, who had been terrorising the people of the state.
He said, Usman had led many robbery operations in Kaduna, Abuja, Kogi and Zamfara states, adding that upon investigations, no fewer than 13 of his gang members were arrested at different hide outs.
