A
middle-aged man, Ailabogie Aikpaojie, arrested by the Lagos State Police
Command for unlawful possession of firearms – three pump action single
barrelled guns and 250 live cartridges – has said that he bought the arms and
ammunition from the state police command.
Speaking
to journalists after he and several others were paraded for different offences
by the Acting Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Deputy Commissioner of Police
Dasuki Galadanchi, on Friday, Aikpaojie, who also had a pistol with 9mm live
ammunition on him when he was arrested, said he had done nothing wrong.
“I’m
not a criminal, I wonder why I was being paraded,” he exclaimed.
In
a chilling revelation that turned out to be an interesting one, the suspect
said he bought the firearms from the Lagos State Police Command sometime in
2002 when he needed protection.
He
said when he arrived the country then from the United States, where he has
residency permit, he had security challenge, thus, he approached the then
Police Commissioner, who helped him to arrange for the guns. He said he also
had a function to attend in his village during the period, hence, he had to
fortify himself.
He
explained, “I had security challenge then, so I approached the police
commissioner at that time. I told him I had a function in my village and I
needed to be protected. I purchased the guns here in this Lagos State Police
Command (Ikeja). I purchased the three pump action guns here.
“That
place (pointing at the armoury) was where they sold the guns to me and this
(pointing) box of cartridges. That other building (pointing) was where I did
the licences for the three guns and I was given. But the licences are now with
the Area Commander; they have seized them.
“Each
of these (pump action) guns cost me N150,000, but I can’t remember how much I
paid for the cartridges. Can anyone prove that I used it to commit crime? I
need the guns for security.”
He
queried why he should be arrested by the police that sold the guns to him.
He
added, “If the police know I’m not supposed to have these pump action guns, why
sell them to me? They brought someone who sold them to me right here on this
police ground. In fact, I couldn’t take them out after they sold them to me
until the licences were ready.”
Meanwhile,
the Public Relations Officer of Lagos State Police Command, ASP Olarinde
Famous-Cole, dismissed the claim that the suspect bought the guns from the
command, saying there was no such thing. He added that the suspect had no
licence for the guns.
Earlier,
the acting commissioner had said the suspect was arrested on June 22 about 3pm
by police operatives, saying he would be charged to court for unlawful
possession.
He
added, “He could not give a satisfactory account of where he got the Parabellum
Baretta Pistol with 9mm live ammunition. Another search in his house led to
recovery of three long single-barrelled pump action rifles with 250
cartridges.”
-Punch
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