Presidency: No State Authorised To Buy Automatic Weapons

Post created on 4:36 pm

The Presidency has said no state has been authorised to procure automatic weapons for their security outfits.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

He said the President had repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47s or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them.

“Where they fail to do so, the law enforcement agencies have been given clear directives to deal with any such outlaws,” he added.

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had on September 22 criticised the federal government’s opposition to the proposed use of arms by the Western Nigeria Security Network (Amotekun Corps) while allowing its equivalent in Katsina state to bear weapons.

On Monday, the governor expressed his commitment to equipping Amotekun for the effective operation of the corps in securing the lives and property of the people of the region.

He said the denial of the right of Amotekun to bear arms to protect the people of the state violated the tenets of federalism.

But in a swift reaction on Tuesday, the Presidency said under the existing regulations, only the Office of the National Security Adviser could issue such authorization, upon proper clearance by the President and Commander-in-Chief, adding that “as it is at this moment, no such approvals have been issued to any state government.”

The presidential spokesman said: “In the specific Katsina State often cited, the Governor, Aminu Bello Masari wrote to explain that the administration invited the Provost of the Civil Defence Training College in Katsina to train their Vigilantes for five days ‘in the handling and operations of Pump Action Rifles,’ emphasizing that ‘the Vigilantes were not trained to take over the responsibilities of the security agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria but to assist them.’

The Presidency appreciates the active involvement of states in security matters.

[Daily Trust]