Police Ban Issuance Of New Arms Licences …IGP Retires All DIGs …As Gunmen Kidnap Seven Persons In Zamfara

The Acting Inspector- General of Police (I-G), Mr Mohammed Adamu, has placed, with immediate effect, an embargo on the issuance of new licences for designated arms throughout the country.
ACP Frank Mba, the spokesman of the force, disclosed this in a statement yesterday in Abuja. Mba who did not list the categories of the arms, called on Nigerians in unlawful possession of such weapons to return them to Police Stations or Public Armoury nearest to them.
Mba said the decision followed the proliferation of illicit weapons and the desire by some citizens to acquire more arms.
He said the Acting I-G advised Nigerians to take advantage of the “voluntary arms return window” and do the right thing as there would be dire consequences for defaulters.
The spokesman said that the force had perfected plans to embark on a massive, nationwide Joint Arms Mopping up Operations.
He said the operation which would be intelligence-driven and target-oriented, was designed to retrieve all illicit weapons in circulation.
Mba said that the exercise would halt the on-going proliferation of weapons, restore law and order and bring perpetrators to justice. Our correspondent reports that the immediate past I-G, Mr Ibrahim Idris had ordered a mop up of illegal and unauthorised arms from across the country.
Meanwhile, Acting Inspector-General Muhammed Adamu has retired seven deputy inspectors-general of police who were his seniors, The Tide has learnt from police sources.
The affected officers are MaigariDikko, the DIG in charge of finance and administration and HabilaJoshak, the DIG in charge of operations.
The remaining five DIGs are Emmanuel Inyang, information and communications technology; AgboolaOshodi-Glover, logistics and supply; Mohammed Katsina, research and planning; Sani Mohammed, training and development; and Peace Ibekwe-Abdallah, federal criminal investigation and intelligence.
Their retirement cameyesterday evening, and it would be announced formally later, it was learnt. Police spokesperson, Frank Mba’s telephone was switched off at the time of this report.
The seven officers were amongst 15 senior officers our correspondent reported were likely to be retired on January 17.
The seven DIGs and eight assistant inspectors-general were identified as having joined the police before MrAdamu, who was appointed on January 15 after the former IG Ibrahim Idris was retired as he attained 60 years.
The seven police chiefs’ departure was in furtherance of the convention that recommends the retirement of senior police chiefs when an officer junior to them in service or lower in rank is appointed to lead the institution.
When Mr Idris was appointed IG in 2016, more than 20 DIGs and AIGs were compelled to retire from service to enable him constitute his management team.
Mr Adamu has now followed the tradition, which has been criticised as wasteful and demoralising because of huge resources the nation had spent on the vast knowledge the senior officers had acquired over the years.
Similarly, gunmen on Saturday night storm a sports viewing centre in Birnin Magaji town of BirninMagaji Local Government Area of Zamfara State and kidnapped seven of the viewers and took them away.
According to the proprietor of the viewing centre, SanusiIliyasuIshie, around 10pm, the abductors numbering about 20 stormed the viewing centre which is located on the outskirts of Birnin Magaji town.
He added that the abductors parked some distance away from the centre and demanded the whereabouts of the operator, and asked, ‘Is this Sanusi Viewing Centre?’
“Myself and the people around answered them in the affirmative because we mistook them for security operatives,” Sanusi said.
He said the gunmen held him hostage and broke into the viewing centre and began picking people indiscriminately.
“When the viewers realised that they were under siege, they started scampering out of the centre, screaming for help in panic. At the end, they picked seven of the viewers trying to escape,” he said.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Zamfara State Command, SP Muhammad Shehu, said the Command was already after the Bandits.
“The Command has sent its rescue-and-search team headed by the Area Commander to that effect,” he said.