Military Recovers 517 Weapons From Bandits In Plateau

Military Taskforce in Plateau (Operation Safe Haven, OPSH) has recovered and handed over 517 recovered arms and light weapons from bandits and criminal elements within its area of operation.

Commander of the taskforce and General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armoured Division, Jos, Major Gen. Ibrahim Ali disclosed this on yesterday during a press briefing preceding the handover of the weapons to the North-central Zonal Coordinator of National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (ACCSALW), Major Gen. Hamza Bature (Rtd).

Major Gen Ali said that the operational successes recorded by troops of the taskforce recently have led to the recovery of the small arms and light weapons from criminal elements.

The arms and light weapons comprise 40 automatic weapons and 477 locally fabricated firearms. The automatic weapons include 26 AK-47 rifles, one FN rifle, two Beretta rifles, three G3 rifles, six Beretta pistols, one Harris Burg pistol, and one SMG.

Others include 183 locally fabricated Rifles, 163 Dane Guns, 102 Locally Fabricated pistols and 19 locally fabricated SMGs, six Single Barrel Guns and one Pump Action.”

Gen Ali also used the opportunity to dispel the unfounded campaign of calumny trending on some social media platforms that he has been compromising and taking side with a particular ethnic group in the conflict between farmers and herders in Plateau.

He said, “Contrary to this falsehood, it is pertinent to note that as a member of the Armed Forces, I have sworn my allegiance to defend the country and protect the lives and properties of all citizens devoid of any ethnic, religious or pecuniary sentiments.”

He appreciated citizens that provided credible information that led to the success of the arms recovery and urged the troops to sustain the tempo in order to decisively curtail the activities of criminal elements.

Receiving the weapons, Gen. Bature appreciated the troops and urged the public to always give necessary information to mop out illegal firearms from the hands of criminals.

“I encourage the Operation Safe Haven to step up the tide to ensure that we recover all firearms from the society, knowing that we are moving towards the election and we want everybody to be on the same page.”

He expressed hope that more weapons would be recovered from the public as they continue to collaborate for the recovery of small arms and light weapons.