By Abel Daniel, Lafia

The recovery of locally made revolver guns, pistols and other fire arms from suspects by  Nasarawa State Police Command points to the fact that there may be arms factories located  in the state or neighbouring states.

The police in Nasarawa State paraded 55 armed robbery suspects and 11 cultists who are mainly youth within the ages of 20-35 and recovered, in  three months, 32 locally made fire arms, one dane gun, six toy guns, one Mark 4 rifle, one G3 rifle, 346 7.62mm rounds of live ammunition, 5.56mm rounds of live ammunition, 0.9mm rounds of live ammunition, 15 cartridges, nine cutlasses and knifes.

The state commissioner of police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim, while parading the suspects in Lafia, said the locally made guns use the same ammunition as  the AK47 rifle and can do as much work as the AK47.

An assessment of the designs and accessories used in constructing the arms showed they could have been made by one person or same group of persons. Though, according to police report, the suspect claimed they obtained the arms from neighboring states.

Most of the suspects, according to the police, were arrested on high ways leading to local communities where they terrorize and rob travellers and businessmen and women who go to the hinterlands to buy or sell goods in what is popularly referred to as ‘bush market’.

The areas where criminals have found suitable for their operations in the state include: Nasarawa local government, Nasarawa Eggon/Lafia Road, Keffi/Panda Road, Doma/Lafia Road, Awe, Obi/Keana Road and Asakio Road.

Meanwhile, the CP commended the collaboration with persons who furnished the police with information leading to the arrest of the suspects and called on well-meaning citizens of Nasarawa to report the  movements of suspected persons, abandoned luggage  and abandoned vehicles to the police by calling phone numbers 08123821571 and 07059473022.