4 paraded for gunrunning, impersonation

4 paraded for gunrunning, impersonation

4 paraded for gunrunning, impersonation

From Lami Sadiq, Jos

Security agents in Plateau State yesterday paraded three suspected gun runners and one military impersonator.

Operation Safe Heaven Commander, Major General Tagbo Ude said the arrest of the suspects followed months of painstaking efforts by officers and men of the military taskforce.

He told newsmen during the parade of the suspects, “The three suspects are members of a gunrunning syndicate and we have been on their trail for the past three months. We have some of their weapons, two look like the Police Mac 4 and one is a locally made automatic weapon but it is as proficient as our AK47 rifle.”

General Ude said the Military impersonator who was arrested a few days ago in Mangu local government area of the state had claimed to be a staff sergeant. He expressed the regret that because of a lacuna in the law, it has become easy for arrested gunrunners to be released by the courts, adding, “When we take them to the police and courts, they are granted bail and a lot of bureaucratic processes are involved. This has been a problem we have been encountering but we have made it known to his Excellency, the Governor of Plateau State that there is need for a special court to be established to try some of these cases.”

Earlier, the Media and Information Officer of OPSH, Captain Ikedichi Iweha said the arrest of the military impersonator had vindicated OPSH which has always denied allegations that military officers had attacked certain communities in the State. “It is suspects like this, who claims to be a staff sergeant that soil the good name of security agents in Nigeria,” he said.