* Police Commissioner concurs
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has pointedly told Zamfara State governor, Bello Matawalle that he lacks the powers to instruct the Commissioner of Police of the State to issue gun licences to the public.
In an interview at the Joint Exercise for the National Defence College and War Colleges of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, code-named ‘Exercise Grand Nationale,’ in Abuja, Irabor expressed his disapproval at the measures being taken by the governor to secure his State against insurgency.
“I do not think that is the right way to go. I do not think that the governor has the power to instruct the Commissioner of Police to issue licences because the Commissioner of Police does not have the right to issue licences,” he said firmly.
“The basis for asking citizens to bear arms, I am yet to know. I believe that the Attorney General of the Federation will look at the Constitution, what the laws say and what the powers of the governor are to be able to do this.
“There are other legal issues of governance that the governor could have addressed using the instrumentalities of the law available to bring greater peace and security.”
Irabor also clarified the position of the Armed Forces in the current administration, adding that it is not subject to directives from State governments.
“The armed forces are only an instrument of policy implementation. We do not take instructions from state governments, we have a Commander-in-Chief, and the Constitution gives the right and powers to the Commander-in-Chief. So, we are there to give support to the civil authority, in this case, the police,” he said.
On his part, the Zamfara State Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Elkana, said he cannot issue gun licences to the residents, adding that the embargo on firearms is still in force and the police have stopped issuing licences to citizens who wish to own guns.
“I have not received any directives, and also, there is a ban on firearms licence, and we don’t give licence. I am yet to receive any directive. Let me see the directive first before I can comment. I have not seen the directive, so I cannot comment on compliance.”
The CP also said the government’s call on residents to bear arms for self-defence was a no-confidence vote on the police.