Not less than 21 assorted firearms have been recovered from non-state actors across Lagos in March, the Police Command said Friday.
In a statement issued signed by Lagos state Police Commissioner, Owohunwa Idowu who gave the details at his maiden press briefing at the Officers’ Mess in Ikeja, where he also reviewed security operations during the last general elections.
According to him, the state’s command said it intensified illegal firearms mop-up in line with directives from the Inspector General of Police (IG) Alkali Usman.
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Speaking further, the command said it had adopted the concentric circle law enforcement principle to not only mop up these illegal firearms but track their sources.
The commissioner explained that illicit firearms in the hands of the non-state actor was a challenge to law enforcement.
“What we are doing is to continue to identify sources of these firearms. We have arrested, make recoveries, and have coordinated an approach in line with the directive of the IG to mop up illicit firearms within the public space.
“From the strategic approach, what we are doing is not isolating the recovery of a firearm. If we recover one, we use the concentric circle law enforcement principle to track the source. That is the only way we can break the network behind the proliferation of the arms and I think it is beginning to yield results.
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“If you have been following the news, you will hear that Ilupeju division, about a week ago, based on intelligence, flagged down a bus and they attempted to run. They gave them a hot pursuit, arrested them, and recovered an English pistol. Apparently, they were going for an operation.
“So, the point here is that we will keep sustaining our efforts to track the brains behind this to ensure that our mop-up operation is meaningful and sustainable. In so doing, we also need the support of the citizens in providing information so that firearm traffickers are apprehended.
“Within March alone, we recovered 21 firearms of different precision and calibers. We will sustain it and hope that the judicial system will support us and ensure prompt justice for demanding the those arrested.”
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