The tale of the Plateau’s war against arms proliferation

Since crisis broke out in Plateau State 15 years ago, communities and individuals, especially those living in the hinterlands, have felt the need to arm and defend themselves and their properties from what many regard as marauding criminals that include faceless and unknown gunmen, suspected Fulani herdsmen, cattle rustlers and armed robbers. This self-defence against […]

Since crisis broke out in Plateau State 15 years ago, communities and individuals, especially those living in the hinterlands, have felt the need to arm and defend themselves and their properties from what many regard as marauding criminals that include faceless and unknown gunmen, suspected Fulani herdsmen, cattle rustlers and armed robbers. This self-defence against known and perceived enemies has made Plateau one of the notorious hubs for small, light and heavy weapons.
 The most affected places are the hinterlands. The last four months – before the end of the year and the first few months at the beginning of the year – just before the rainy season – usually send dreadful chills to communities. These periods are usually characterised by the influx of herders from the upper northern region of the country, leading to clashes between them and farmers. It is also within these periods that cattle rustling thrives, adversely leading to a boom in the manufacture, sale and circulation of arms.
 One of the challenges security agents in Plateau State are facing is how to mop up the large cache of illegal weapons in the hands of citizens. After a series of arrests, confiscation of hundreds of small, light and heavy weapons by men of the Operation Safe Haven, the Plateau State government took a proactive measure to solving a problem that many though had defied political and military solutions. 
Last week, Governor Simon Bako Lalong said he would grant amnesty to gun- runners and fabricators of light and sophisticated weapons as part of efforts at mopping up illegal weapons in the state. Lalong, who was stunned at the cache of small, light and sophisticated weapons put on display at the headquarters of Operation Safe Haven in Jos said, “If there are youths whose preoccupation is to wait for crisis to take up such opportunities, let them come out, let them release the ammunitions they have and we will find them something to do instead of sitting in the bush and waiting for opportunities to kill people.”
He further said he would soon move all his commissioners to their various local governments to encourage the mopping up of weapons, adding that those who claim to be unemployed and are willing to release their weapons would be rewarded accordingly.
The commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major-General Rogers Nicholas, advised the state government to collaborate with the Ministry of Defence to see how some of the talented weapon fabricators could be employed in the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON).
General Nicholas said, “Since we are looking inwards, and change begins with us, we can also key into the programme to see how we can change their attitudes to fabricate these weapons legally through the DICON. They can be put into groups where they can be monitored and controlled so that we can put them to good use.”
The media and information officer of Operation Safe Haven, Captain Ikedichi Iweha, said some of the communities with the highest number of illegal weapons and talented fabricators included Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Jos North, Jos South, Wase, Langtang North and Langtang South.
Hundreds of weapons have been recovered by the security task force and a lot of suspects arrested and handed over to the police or the Department of State Security (DSS) for prosecution, depending on the nature of charges. But this has not deterred gunrunners and fabricators. In March 2016, men of the Operation Safe Haven nabbed three young men with two Mac4 rifles and a locally made gun after an extensive intelligence operation. The three young men, who were also skilled in the art of weapon designs and fabrication, had designed a weapon they named ‘Scorpion.’ The then commander of the task force, Major-General Tagbo Ude, described the locally made gun as proficient as the AK47.   
Also in July, the task force arrested a notorious kingpin named Nanbong Sambo Maidoki, also known as NSK, in Langtang North. A military styled rocket-propelled grenade tube launcher, a bomb and bomb charger were found in his possession, neatly concealed in his Toyota Highlander jeep. He was handed over to the DSS.
It is said that the gunrunners cut across religious and ethnic lines. In April 2016, a four-man syndicate was nabbed in Du, Jos South by the men of the task force while trying to assemble four AK47 riffles to sell at N400, 000. They were apprehended by security agents before the transaction was completed.
To reduce the number of locally made arms in the state, Captain Iweha also said the task force had suggested that the state government should monitor the activities of local blacksmiths. According to him, these local blacksmiths sometimes use their trade as a cover to fabricate and supply arms. 
The ad-hoc committee on security, set up by the 8th Assembly in the state last year to investigate the crisis in Riyom and Barkin Ladi, had recommended that the House put in place, legislation that would regulate the activities of local blacksmiths. The chairman of the committee and deputy speaker of the House, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, told our correspondent that the legislation was still in the pipeline as the committee’s report had been approved.
Gagdi said the recommendation on the proliferation of locally made arms was to adjust the activities of the state government-owned security agency, Operation Rainbow. He stressed that, “By amending the law on Operation Rainbow, the security agency will take care of the activities of blacksmiths in terms of registration, monitoring what they produce and the capacity of their production.” 
The deputy speaker, however, said the delay was caused by the fact that at the time of submitting the report, the leadership of Operation Rainbow was not yet in place. He added, “Though the leadership was constituted this year, the House has been busy on the appropriation, and considering the law establishing the peace bureau, which was another recommendation in the report. So, as you can see, we are implementing the recommendations one after another.” 
The commander of Operation Safe Haven, Major-General Nicholas, further lamented, “Because the law is relaxed on these issues, when we hand these criminals to the police and courts, they are released on bail.”
But last week, Governor Lalong said his administration had determined to change the entire legal system of the state to ensure speedy prosecution of offenders. He assured that delayed prosecution or release of criminals into the society would soon be a thing of the past.