The Nigerian Police Force has warned Nigerians against patronising individuals who backdate firearms licences in the country following a licensing ban.
The police had in August 2023 stopped the issuance of licences for small arms due to the high rate of illegal arms proliferation in the country.
The Nigeria Police Spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi, gave the warning on Thursday at a joint briefing of the Strategic Communications and Inter-agency Policy Committee (SCIPC) organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He stressed that backdated firearms licences remained fake and the long arm of the law would catch up with such a person.
He warned that the use of arms in the country is illegal and that possessing one is punishable under the law.
Adejobi said, “For those who are working 24 hours to bring in arms to Nigeria, it is a criminal offence. Any prohibited arms found in your possession can take you to prison. You don’t even need to struggle to get any of these arms. It’s a criminal offence, and we don’t encourage anyone to have one. For now, we have banned the use of arms and ammunition in Nigeria.
“If you want to get your arms, you must wait until the government lifts the ban. Prohibited firearms or whatever you want to call it. Don’t be deceived. Specific individuals will backdate licenses to give you, but it’s still fake.
“So, I want to appeal to Nigerians, don’t be deceived. Most of those agents are arms dealers; many are funny and can be so dubious. “
“Don’t allow anybody to lead you into committing criminal offences, particularly regarding the issue of arms. We are going to take it more seriously, and we are going to go after those who have arms illegally. It’s an offence that remains offensive and punishable under the law. “
The Police Spokesman, speaking on the issue of those declared wanted for allegedly trying to overthrow the president, insisted that the suspects remained wanted.
He added that the police had contacted the Nigeria Immigration Service to determine whether British national Andrew Wynne was a legal immigrant.
Adejobi said, “We have contacted them(Immigration ). They are going to inform the general public about Andrew Wynne’s status, whether he is an illegal immigrant or not. But whatever the situation is, we still want to reiterate that Mr. Andrew Wynne and Lucky Obiyan are still wanted on our list.
“We have cases against them. Cases that bother on subversion. And, of course, taking over the democratically elected government forcefully. “
Adejobi said the police would not watch and allow foreigners to plunge the country into crisis.
He said, “Sponsoring crises and, of course, financing terrorism in Nigeria will not be condoned. We hold Nigerians this responsibility.
“We will not fold our hands. Looking at certain individuals, especially foreigners, to finance, recruit, educate, and groom Nigerians to engage in criminal activities. Not just criminal activities. These are capital offences punishable under the law. So I’m standing here again to reiterate that whatever the immigration status of Andrew Wynne, we are looking for him,” he said.
