Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmad Abdurrahman, has called on residents to be vigilant and report cases of unlawful possession of firearms, within their neighbourhoods, to the Police.
The call is contained in a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Daniel Ndukwe, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday.
Abdurrahman also warned persons and groups to voluntarily submit firearms in their unlawful possession, as offenders would not be spared.
“Following the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, on the clampdown on the proliferation of prohibited firearms in the country, the commissioner has ordered strict enforcement of the directive in the state.
“The commissioner has directed all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) and Heads of Tactical/Operational Departments of the Command to immediately identify, disarm, arrest and prosecute any person(s) or group(s) unlawfully possessing firearms.
“He further directs all DPOs to organise enlightenment meetings for personnel of neighbourhood watch, forest guards, vigilante and local security outfits in their areas of responsibility to ensure they operate in conformity with extant laws guiding their establishment and operations.
“Area Commanders are to coordinate, supervise and report outcomes of the meetings.
“The CP also warned persons or groups in unlawful possession of firearms to immediate effect submit same to the nearest police station, as offenders will not be spared,’’ he said.
Ndukwe said that the commissioner enjoined residents to remain law-abiding, urging them to volunteer useful information on criminalities through the Command’s hotlines – 08032003702, 08086671202, 08075390883 or 08098880172.
