October 15, (THEWILL) – The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, on Friday, said no state governor in the country has the right to purchase large calibre weapons for use by quasi-security organisations under their control.
The CDS statement may not be unconnected to recent agitations by Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom and his counterpart in Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, to procure high-calibre arms for local security outfits.
THEWILL recalls that Governor Ortom, while speaking on Thursday, at the passing out procession of the second batch of the State Volunteer Community Guards at IBB Square in Makurdi, the state capital, gave the Federal Government a one-month deadline to approve his request to obtain an AK-47 licence or he will consult with his people on the best course of action.
The governor had claimed that he had applied for an AK-47 rifle licence, but that the federal government had not responded to him after three months.
Also, Governor Akeredolu recently faulted the Presidency for denying that it has not granted permission to the Katsina State local security outfit to bear arms.
Specifically, Akeredolu had queried the granting of permission to the Kasina security outfit, whereas other state security outfits were denied the licence to bear arms.
But while reacting to the question on the request by some governors seeking to arm their local security outfits, Irabor, however, cautioned residents to be wary and always read between the lines when certain requests are made by state chief executives in response to a query about certain governors’ desire to arm their local security forces.
The CDS was joined by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and his counterpart, Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, to brief newsmen, after a National Security Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Gen. Irabor declared that the deployment of high calibre weapons such as the AK-47 rifles, among others, lies strictly within the purview of the Federal government security agencies alone.
He said Nigerians (Journalists inclusive), must be able to read between the lines when certain comments are made, to elicit certain reactions, as opposed to the reality with respect to what the security setting is.
The CDS explained that AK-47 and, indeed, “firearms fall into two major categories. You have automatic weapons and the ones that we may classify as non-automatic weapons, which some of you may even have if you have the appropriate licences. Talking about the Pump Action, which is the very common one, and sometimes even the dane guns some of the hunters use.
“What is involved in the class mentioned has to do with automatic weapons. There’s no state that has been given licence for that”, he declared, adding that the sole responsibility of licencing lies with the federal government agencies and also to be used by government security agencies and not quasi-security forces.
“So, you do not ask for what you do not have the power to acquire”, General Irabor stated.
Aregbesola on his part debunked the governors’ claims that states Executives also have powers to procure firearms for their local security outfits.
“No state government has been empowered to arm any of his security operatives or agencies. None. So, the false claim that the state government is empowered by the federal government to have his own vigilante or sub-national security outfit is false, absolute false!”, he said.
He further explained that the conditions precedent before the licence to bear arms could be obtained for local use, but according to him, the governors had failed to meet.
“There is a procedure for whoever wants to legally bring in any weapon to follow. And whoever is authorised by the law of the land, to bring in legitimate ammunition, including the army, must go through that process.
“So, whoever wants to import ammunition, armament or weapons is advised to go through the legitimate process of such activity or act.”
Also on the issue of application for the purchase of firearms, the Minister of Police Affairs said, “The government had made it categorically clear that it has not issued any licence to any state government or to the organisation to purchase firearms for subnational security measures.
“So, for anybody to say he has given a timeline for the federal government to issue you a licence, I think he should know that there is due process that one should follow to secure such licences.”
Dingyadi advised “those concerned to please follow the due process to ensure that they get the appropriate response of the federal government on the matter.”
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