The panache of Nigerian governors to purchase private jets has been allegedly used to smuggle arms into the country without adequate inspection.
This was the bold revelation made by the Director General, National Task force on Illegal Importation of Light Weapons and Small Arms, Osita Okereke, on Channels Television breakfast programme, Sunrise Daily, where he stated that “they (governors) take private jets abroad, purchase arms and land in their state –no security man has right to search or search him because it is a governor’s item. You cannot stop, you cannot search them.”
Mr Okereke gave this remark over the availability of arms in Zamfara state which the state Governor plans to arm vigilante groups within the state, to address its insecurity.
According to Mr Okereke, the revelation from Zamfara is just the one we (the public) know.There are many governors with so many arms in this country that the numbers of arms they are having is ‘uncountable’.“There are so many of them in various states. These governors have brought in arms that are uncountable” he affirmed.He further revealed that “we have marked so many states” but however failed to mention any of such state, saying “it is a security matter.”
He traced the plethora of arms to Governors who according to Mr Okereke, armed hoodlums with the guns.“There are millions of arms in Nigeria” he said, adding that they (Governors) are already arming ahead of 2015 general elections.
He appealed that the government should provide the task force on Illegal Importation of Light Weapons and Small Arms, with Police, Army and budgeted funds because “we have informants all over the place and we need to pay them.”