A pressure group, North Central Renaissance (NCR), has urged the Federal Government to revisit cases of gun running involving individuals and groups in order to trace the inflow of illegal arms into the country.
A statement by the group’s convener, Mr Jerome Lan, on Tuesday, stressed the importance of reopening such cases in view of the growing security challenges in the country.
Lan said that the fight against insecurity cannot be successful while individuals alleged to be keeping large cache of unlicensed arms are not made to face the law.
“Nigeria has witnessed an upsurge in banditry, kidnapping and bloodletting across the country in recent times.
“The frequency in Boko Haram attacks, banditry and kidnapping points to the fact that there are arms in the hands of criminals who have continued to use them to terrorize and kill innocent citizens.
“All hands must be on deck to checkmate the inflow of these arms in Nigeria.
“Recall that on the Feb. 24, 2017, the DSS while acting on credible intelligence, searched and found some incriminating items stashed in the boots of a Mecedez Benz S550 (BWR 135 AH) and Masarati 47 (BWR 207 AJ) cars.
“The cars were parked at the premises of a private property in Abuja, allegedly owned by Sen. Gabriel Suswam.
“We are concerned about security and well-being of citizens; we herein call on the relevant agencies to immediately reopen and investigate all those alleged to be illegally involved with fire arms,” Lan said.
He also stated that there were too many weapons in the hands of criminals and as such anyone suspected to own such weapons should be investigated for the sake of security in the country.
This, he said would expose the collaborators and suppliers of such weapons and trace their route into the country. (NAN)
