In an apparent response to Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, the presidency has stated that no state’s security forces have been permitted to use automatic rifles such as AK-47s.
In a statement sent to journalists Tuesday evening, Garba Shehu, the spokesperson of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the president “has repeatedly made it clear that nobody is allowed to illegally carry AK-47 or any other automatic weapons and that they must surrender them.”
PREMIUM TIMES reported how Mr Akeredolu questioned why a security outfit established by Katsina State was allowed to carry AK-47s but security outfits established by states in southern Nigeria, such as Ondo, were not.
In his response, Mr Shehu 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 a five-day period “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.”
However, Mr Shehu did not say why the Katsina security outfit members were being trained to use such weapons if they would not be allowed to carry them.
Uploaded By: OLUWASEYI OLORUNLEKE
Join our twitter community :