During an ongoing special military operation in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states, the headquarters of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), says it has detained two for allegedly manufacturing arms in Logo Local Government Area of Benue.
The commander in charge, Maj-Gen Adeyemi Yekini, disclosed this while addressing newsmen on Monday, April 1, 2019 in Makurdi, said that the two suspects were arrested by the OPWS sector command in Logo.
Yekini said following a tip-off from local informants on the activities of the manufactures, it took them about one month of careful observation to identify the factories and the owners.
According to NAN, it was the sector command that arrested the suspect at different sites in Tine Nune village.
A Capt. Samuel Okinahi, the sector commander of the OPWS in the area said it was not an easy task to plan and carry out the operation.
One of the suspects who spoke to newsmen claimed to have studied Telecommunication Engineering in Mauritania. He also revealed to have acquired the skills of arms production while studying abroad for five years, before returning to Nigeria.
“Upon my return to the country, all my efforts at getting a viable business to do failed owing to my peoples witchcraft.
Having expended all my resources on other businesses to no avail, I decided to take advantage of the lingering communal crises in my community to venture into arms manufacture to make a living,” he said.
Adding that the suspected manufacturers admitted having customers in Benue and Taraba states.
Some of the arms that the OPWS said were manufactured by the suspects included sub-machine guns, AK47 machine gun which costs between N350, 000 and N400, 000, while a pistol goes for N150,000, among other assorted local weapons.
