The Lagos State Police Command says it has recovered more than 200 illegally acquired firearms from individuals and suspected hoodlums in the last seven months.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Edgal Imohimi, made the disclosure at a news conference in Lagos.
Imohimi said the firearms were recovered from suspected hoodlums and those that embraced the 21 days grace period given by the Inspector-General of Police to submit their illegally acquired firearms.
The recovered arms and ammunition were taken to the Lagos State Police Command armoury.
The police chief added that the recoveries covered a period of seven months, starting from September, 2017 when he assumed duty in the command.
Imohimi said the recovered firearms consisted of 38 pump action rifles, six AK-47 rifles, 12 double-barrel rifles, 11 single-barrel rifles and 70 single-barrel locally made and cut-to-size shot guns.
Others are 18 locally made revolver pistols, three Beretta pistols, 220 cartridges and 60 7.62mm AK-47 ammunition.
“As you can see on display, the firearms mop-up exercise yielded positive result in the command.
“I’m also using this opportunity to call on citizens to take advantage of the grace period and return voluntarily, prohibited firearms.
“Failure to do so will lead to lawful search of buildings and property that we have credible information on which will eventually lead to arrest and prosecution. I hope it won’t come to that,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Police in Jigawa are worried that 60 persons are in possession of pump action guns in the state. The Police Commissioner, Mr. Bala Sanci, confirmed this while fielding questions from newsmen in Dutse on Tuesday.
Sanci said no one could possess such gun without the approval of Mr. President. He called on people in possession of such guns to immediately surrender them to the command.
“We have the list, names and addresses of sixty people who are in possession of pump action guns in Jigawa.
“The time given to such people with illegal firearms to surrender them has elapsed and these sixty people are yet to surrender theirs.
“And our task force team will soon embark on forceful recovery of such arms,” he warned.
The commissioner said that such people were in illegal possession of pump action guns, pointing out only the President could give license for people to own such guns.
Sanci, therefore, urged such people to voluntarily surrender the guns to the police. “We are calling on people having these pump action guns in the state to voluntarily surrender them to us.
“We have their names and addresses so they should just voluntarily surrender them before our task force team embarks on forceful recovery of such arms,” he warned.
- NAN