Herdsmen forced us to start producing guns for protection, says suspect
)- A 19-year-old blacksmith, Shapraku Umade has revealed why he produces guns
- Umade said he learnt how to fabricate guns in his community in Benue state
- According to him, they were forced to learn the process as a way of defending themselves against herdsmen attacks
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A 19-year-old blacksmith, Shapraku Umade was arrested by the Lagos state police command of the Nigeria Police Force for alleged gun-running said he learnt how to fabricate guns in his community where they were forced to defend themselves against killer herdsmen.
Umade who is from Benue state, said he learnt to make guns from a book he bought and read.
He was, however, arrested on Monday, August 3, alongside Moses Anzuur (19), and James Tsebee, (20), at the Lekki area of Lagos state, after they were allegedly found with locally-made pistols.
Source: Original
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But Umade, who was paraded by the police said: “I did not bring the guns to Lagos. I came to Lagos two weeks ago with my brother, Moses (Anzuur) to look for Miyaki. Miyaki sometime ago, came to our community and collected two guns for N30,000 each, but he did not pay.
“I usually buy metal from scrap collectors and then, cut them to suit the gun I want to produce.”
Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu said they have been involved in gun-running for over two years, adding that the investigation was ongoing.
Legit.ng had earlier reported that a group, West African Action Network On Small Arms (WAANSA) has advised President Muhammadu Buhari on how to curb the illegal proliferation of arms in Nigeria and the West African region.
The group's vice president, Southeast chapter, Comrade Elvis Ekeoma Osimiri, during a press briefing in Enugu, appealed to President Buhari to lobby other ECOWAS members to demonstrate practical political will towards implementing an international arms trade treaty entered into more than four years ago.
He said: “Illegal arms and light weapon finds their way to conflict zones making government strategic efforts to curb violence non-realizable.
“The onus lies on the president to mobilize regional forces to bring to an end this ugly menace that has frustrated regional development through the diversion of funds for infrastructure development to checkmate insecurity.”
WAANSA had earlier advised President Buhari to declare a state of emergency on Nigerian borders.
The group's resolution was passed at its emergency meeting in Nigeria to mark the United Nations International Day of Living in Peace globally, celebrated in May 2020.
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Source: Legit.ng
