Anambra police set to disarm vigilante

Anambra State Police Command is set to disarm members of the vigilante services in all the 181 communities of the state.

Communities and the state government have regularly empowered youths with arms to serve as internal security, leading to the proliferation of small weapons in the state.

But acting on the recent directive of Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris to mop up arms in states, the Anambra State commissioner of police, Mr Garba Umar vowed to arrest and prosecute any individual or groups of persons found with any kind of prohibited firearms in the state, who fail to turn them in within the grace period given.

The commissioner gave 21-day ultimatum directing all illegally acquired firearms and ammunitions to be submitted to the state police command.

Addressing newsmen in Awka, Umar said the command has set up a 9-man task force chaired by ACP Baba Maiyaki to ensure strict adherence to the directive.

He said the mop up operation was targeted at full enforcement of the Firearms Act of 2004.

He listed the firearms affected by the exercise to include artillery, apparatus for the discharge of any explosives of gas diffusion projectiles, rocket weapons, bomb and grenades.

Other weapons enumerated by the commissioner were machine guns and pistols, military rifles, revolvers and pistols, pump action gun of all categories as well as any other firearms weapons fabricated to kill.

Umar urged members of the public, individuals and groups such as Vigilante, neighborhood watch, Town unions, hunters, watch night men or any group or association under any capacity to surrender such prohibited arms before the expiration of the date of the ultimatum.

He also canvassed for the support of the citizens of the state in the enforcement of the directives.