Updated: Ogun police chief deny receiving rifles, 4million ammunition from Amosun
- The commissioner of police in Ogun state, Basir Makama, has denied receiving rifles, 4million ammunition from Amosun
- Report had initially indicated that an immediate past governor of the state, Ibikunle Amosun, reportedly surrendered 1000 AK47 rifles, and millions of ammunition
- But Makama, however, noted that he did not receive any weapon from Amosun
Ogun state police commissioner, Basir Makama, on Tuesday evening, June 25, denied receiving 1,000 AK47 rifles and four million ammunition from former Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
The Nation reports that Makama explained that physical counting of the ammunition showed there were “one million, four hundred thousand and some fractions,” a variation from the four million Amosun had told him while he was being disarmed.
Legit.ng gathered that he also explained that checks into police records revealed that the said weapons were handed over to the force in 2012, insisting that he didn’t see any weapon during the disarming process.
Reacting to the story, CP Makama said he had a duty to disarm the governor at the end of his tenure which he executed.
He said: “I did not see any weapon. All he gave to the police the day he was disarmed are ammunition, ballistic helmet and body armour. I am new in the state, this is somebody who has been governor for eight years.
“I came in and one day when he was about going, he said CP, I have some materials I want to handover to you. Even if he didn’t buy them for the police or didn’t hand them over, I have a responsibility to disarm him and that was what I did.
“The ammunition was not up to four million as alleged. The former Governor said four million but when we counted, we found out it was one million, four hundred and a little fraction.
“I found out the 1,000 AK47 rifles were bought for them (police) in 2012. He had given them in 2012. That is the record I have.”
Premium Times had reported that the former governor returned to the police commissioner four million bullets, 1,000 AK47 rifles, 1,000 bulletproof vests and one armoured personnel carrier (APC) he allegedly stockpiled at the Oke Mosan Government House for an extended period of time.
It was reported that shortly after he was contacted, Makama raced to government house with some of his subordinates, adding that on arrival, truckloads of arms and ammunition were brought out of a nondescript amoury inside the government house.
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The commissioner was said to have then begun a short hand-over proceeding during which the governor surrendered at least four million rounds of ammunition, 1,000 units of AK47 assault rifles, 1,000 units of bulletproof vests and an armoured personnel carrier (APC).
According to Premium Times, at the event, Amosun said he procured the arms and ammunition to check the widespread insecurity in his state of 3,751,140 residents, based on the 2006 census.
He reportedly said he decided to keep them at the government house armoury to ensure they were not allocated indiscriminately by security agencies.
After the speech making was over, the arms and ammunition were allegedly driven to the police command headquarters in the Elewe-Eran area of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
The investigation by the online medium revealed that four weeks after the event, top Nigerian security operatives remained alarmed that a civilian governor would create an armoury and store thousands of arms there.
The agents are also wondering why Amosun has not been arrested and prosecuted for violating sections of the Nigeria Firearms Act.
It said that the law forbids individuals and civilian institutions from illegally operating armouries or possessing prohibited firearms, including artillery, apparatus for the discharge of any explosive or gas diffusing projectile, rocket weapons, bombs and grenades, machine-guns and machine-pistols, military rifles (namely those of calibres 7.62 mm, 9 mm, .300 inches and .303 inches), revolvers and pistols whether rifled or unrifled (including flint-lock pistols and cap pistols).
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According to the medium, it remains unclear how Amosun obtained the weapons, adding that authorities were wondering how he imported the weapons, and how he transported them to government house and stored them for prolonged periods without being detected.
Some security experts were quoted to have said that they were suspicious he might have acquired far more weapons than he gave up to the police and that some of them might be in wrong hands already.
The medium, however, noted that the former governor, now senator, declined to give his own side of the story as he neither answered nor returned telephone calls made to him over five days nor respond to text and WhatsApp messages sent to him.
It stated that when contacted, his media adviser, Rotimi Durojaiye, requested the medium to email him the questions meant for Amosun but five days later, Durojaiye is yet to respond with answers.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that former governor of Ogun state, Ibikunle Amosun, said he inherited a state that was not working in all sectors in 2011.
It was reported that Amosun said that the state he took over had nothing to be desired in terms of economy, infrastructure and security, all of which affected investments.
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Source: Legit.ng
