Operatives of the joint military intervention force, code-named
Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, have uncovered another firearms
manufacturing plant in Benue State. 

The operatives also successfully arrested the arms manufacturer
alongside nine others, including a wanted alleged kidnap kingpin and
cattle rustlers operating between Benue and Nasarawa states axis.

Parading the suspects at the OPWS headquarters in Makurdi, the Force
Commander, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, said six of the suspects were
arrested in Nasarawa State, while four others were apprehended in Benue
State. He explained that the arms manufacturing plant and the
fabricator, Shekwa Terna, were discovered in Buruku Local Government
Area of Benue State, following a tip-off.

General Yekini noted that “our operation is currently centered on
breaking the supply chain of weapon proliferation in the country,
because the increasing spate of arms manufacturing is alarming and it is
fuelling criminal activities in the country.

“We are targeting weapon manufacturers as a way of breaking the
supply chain with a view to reducing the amount of weapons in
circulation and curtailing the spate of armed banditry and other
criminal activities in the country.”

He added that Seidu Muhammadu, a notorious kidnap kingpin and cattle
rustler, along with some of his accomplices, were nabbed in Nasarawa
State while Moses Dzever, a gang member of the wanted militia leader,
Terwase Akwaza, alias Gana, with one other member responsible for Gana’s
logistics, was also arrested in Benue.

The arms manufacturer, who confessed to the crime, said he took over
the business from his elder brother after he was arrested by the
military months backs.

In his words: “I learned the work from my elder brother, who had
earlier been apprehended. After his arrest, I took over the business. I
was sleeping in my house when they came and arrested me. I sell the
rifles to people in my community, while I sell the pistols to a client
from Onitsha.

“Sometimes, when my client from Onitsha comes, he buys up to 15
weapons at once. So far, I have sold over 50 weapons since I started.
But I now regret my action and wished I never went into this in the
first place.”