The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Lucky Irabor, on Friday said it is unconstitutional for a state governor to acquire high caliber weapons for use by local security outfits.
He said this while reacting to questions in company of the Ministers of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi after the National Security Council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
His reaction is coming after Samuel Ortom of Benue State gave the administration a month deadline to approve his request to obtain an AK-47 license or he would go with the choice of his people of acquiring weapons for the state.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had earlier queried the granting of permission to the Kasina security outfit, whereas other state security outfits were denied to bear arms.
While responding, the CDS urged citizens to be weary and always read between the lines when certain requests were sought by governors.
He said it is the responsibility of federal government to deploy high caliber weapons such as the AK-47 rifles among others.
General Irabor said AK-47 and “firearms fall into two major categories. You have the automatic weapons and the ones that we may classify as non-automatic weapons which some of you may even have if you have the appropriate licenses. Talking about the Pump Action which is the very common ones, and sometimes even the dane guns some of the hunters use.
“What is involved in the class that mentioned has to do with automatic weapons. There’s no state that has been given license for that.”
He added that the sole responsibility of licensing lies with the federal government agencies and also to be used by government security agencies and not quasi security forces.
“So, you do not ask for what you do not have power to acquire,” General Irabor stated.
In his contribution, Aregbesola dismissed the notion that governors also have powers to procure fire arms for their local security outfits.
“No state government has been empowered to arm any of his security operatives or agency. None. So, the false claim that the state government is empowered by the federal government to have his own vigilante or sub national security outfit is false, absolute false!”
He explained that the governors had failed to meet the conditions precedent before license to bear arms could be obtained for local use.
“There is a procedure for whoever wants to legally bring in any weapon to follow. And whoever is authorized by the law of the land, to bring in legitimate ammunition, including the army, must go through that process.
“So, whoever wants to import ammunition, armament or weapons is advised to go through the legitimate process of such activity or act.”
The Minister of Police Affairs, while speaking on the issue of application for the purchase of firearms, said, “government had made it categorically clear that it has not issued license to any state government or to the organization to purchase firearms for subnational security measures.
“So, for anybody to say he has given timeline for the federal government to issue you license, I think he should know that there are due process that one should follow to secure such licenses.
Dingyadi advised “those concerned to please follow the due process to ensure that they get the appropriate response of the federal government on the matter.”
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