The Nigerian Police Force has strongly condemned the practice of backdating firearms licenses by certain individuals in the country. This comes in the wake of the police’s decision in August 2023 to halt the issuance of licenses for small arms, a move aimed at curbing the alarming rate of illegal arms proliferation across Nigeria.
At a joint briefing of the Strategic Communications and Inter-agency Policy Committee organized by the Office of the National Security Adviser on Thursday, Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi emphasized that any firearms licenses that have been backdated are considered fraudulent and therefore invalid.
Adejobi reiterated that, under current regulations, the possession of firearms is illegal, and those found in violation of this law will face legal consequences. He warned the public against the unauthorized use of firearms, stressing that the police remain vigilant in enforcing these regulations to enhance public safety and security.
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 need to even 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 need to wait until the government will lift the ban. Prohibited firearms or whatever you want to call it. Don’t be deceived. Certain individuals will go and 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 who are arms dealers, many of them are funny and they can be so dubious.”
“Don’t allow anybody to lead you into committing criminal offences, particularly when it comes to the issue of arms. We are going to take it more seriously, and we are going to go after those who own arms illegally. It’s an offence, and it remains offensive and punishable under the law. “
On the issue of those declared wanted for allegedly trying to overthrow the president, Adejobi insisted that the suspects remained wanted.“
He added that the police had contacted the Nigeria Immigration Service to determine if the British national Andrew Wynne, was a legal immigrant.
Adejobi said, “We have contacted them(Immigration ). They are going to inform the general public about the status of Andrew Wynne, 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, most especially foreigners to be financing, recruiting, educating, and grooming 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.”
