Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force have dismantled a major gunrunning syndicate operating across several northern states, arresting nine suspects and recovering a large cache of firearms and ammunition.
Gatekeepers News reports that Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists on the latest breakthroughs by the Force Intelligence Department–Intelligence Response Team (FID–IRT) in Abuja.
Hundeyin said the coordinated intelligence-led operations resulted in the seizure of seven AK-47 rifles, two AK-49 rifles, five pump-action guns, 15 magazines, a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle, and over 600 rounds of live ammunition of various calibres.
He noted that the IRT recorded significant progress in five major cases involving criminal conspiracy, arms trafficking, and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms.
“Four suspects — Bello Lado, Jafar Adam, Adamu Yusuf, and Yusuf Ibrahim — were arrested in Nasarawa and Plateau states. They were allegedly involved in trafficking nearly 5,000 rounds of ammunition since 2022,” Hundeyin said.
“In a separate operation, one Alhaji Bature Manya, 46, was arrested in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State with an AK-49 rifle. Another suspect, Yunana Iliya, also known as Bado, was apprehended in Kaduna State for allegedly supplying weapons to bandits.”
He added that two other suspects, Yusuf Musa and Mohammadu Jafaru, were arrested in Taraba State for allegedly supplying arms to criminal gangs operating across Plateau, Bauchi, Gombe, Taraba, and Benue states.
Also arrested was Alhaji Jibrin Abubakar, popularly known as Majoye, a 40-year-old arms dealer linked to a notorious network in Plateau and Nasarawa states. A locally fabricated AK-47 rifle was recovered from him.
Hundeyin said investigations are ongoing to apprehend other fleeing members of the syndicate and dismantle their supply chains.
“The Inspector-General of Police commends the gallantry of the operatives and assures Nigerians that the Force will continue to intensify efforts to rid the country of illegal arms and criminal syndicates,” he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has also lauded President Bola Tinubu and the Department of State Services (DSS) for recent joint operations that exposed and disrupted another gunrunning ring in the state.
Speaking through the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), the governor described the operation as a “significant boost” to the state’s Kaduna Peace Model, which emphasizes intelligence sharing, inter-agency collaboration, and community engagement.
“There must be some bad eggs who want to rubbish government’s efforts, but the DSS in Kaduna has done wonderfully well,” Sani said. “This is the kind of result we get when institutions work together.”
