On Friday, the federal government responded to state governments’ growing demand for the authority to purchase automatic weapons for use by their various state security and vigilante outfits.
Remember that as the country’s insecurity has worsened, many states have formed internal security networks, either independently or through regional agreements, to combat new forms of security threats within their domains.
With the formation of such security/vigilante outfits, concerns have been raised about how effective and functional they would be if they were not armed with high-calibre weapons, especially given the nature and level of armament of the elements posing the threats.
Recently, the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, sued the federal government for allegedly refusing to grant the Western Security Network, known as Amotekun, the authority to use automatic weapons such as AK47s in the course of their duties, claiming double standards because the same authority was granted to a northern state.
In addition, during a ceremony marking the Passing-Out Parade of the state’s security outfit, known as the Community Volunteer Guard, on Thursday, Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom issued a month ultimatum to the federal government to grant his state’s request for the permit to arm the new outfit with automatic weapons.
The governor claimed that he had applied to the federal government for permission to be granted to the state security outfit to carry sophisticated weapons to confront the heavily armed terrorists operating in the state, but to no avail.
Responding to a question about the growing demand by states for automatic weapons for their various internal security outfits, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Lucky Irabor, warned that no state or state governor in Nigeria has the authority to acquire weapons of the calibre they are requesting while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the National Security Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Gen. Irabor, who was flanked by the Ministers of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, and Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi, stated that the deployment of high calibre weapons, such as AK-47 rifles, falls solely within the purview of federal government security agencies.
Irabor, on the other hand, advised citizens to be wary and to always read between the lines when state governors seek specific requests.
He stated that Nigerians (journalists) must be able to read between the lines when certain comments are made in order to elicit certain reactions, as opposed to the reality of the security situation.
He shed some light by explaining that the AK-47 and, indeed, “firearms fall into two major categories. You have the 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 ones, and sometimes even the dane guns some of the hunters use.
“What is involved in the class that mentioned has to do with automatic weapons. There’s no state that has been given licence for that, he declared, adding that licencing is solely the responsibility of federal government agencies, and that it is only to be used by government security agencies and not by quasi-security forces.
“So, you do not ask for what you do not have power to acquire,” General Irabor stated.
Corroborating, Aregbesola refuted the governors’ assertion that state executives have the authority to procure firearms for their local security forces..
“No state government has been empowered to arm any of his security operatives or agency. Non. 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!
Continuing, the Minister of Interior explained the prerequisites for obtaining a licence to bear arms for local use, which he claimed 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, armarment or weapons is advised to go through the legitimate process of such activity or act.”
The Minister of Police Affairs also commented on the application for the purchase of firearms, “government had made it categorically clear that it has not issued licence to any state government or to the organisation to purchase firearms for subnational security outfit is false, absolute false!”.
