We Produce Guns & Sell To Robbers, Cultists – Blacksmith

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

The Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, has made a remarkable achievement after his officers arrested a blacksmith and his syndicate, who manufacture local guns and supply to armed robbers and cult gangs in Lagos.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Lagos State Police Command arrested three gun makers from Benue State, who came to Lagos to supply the weapons and were caught in a popular hotel in Lekki area of Lagos.

The suspects – Shapraku Umade (19), Moses Anzuur (19) and James Tsebee (20) – were arrested at a hotel in the Lekki area of Lagos State while waiting to hand over some weapons to a known robbery suspect, who was on the Command’s wanted list.
During questioning, one of them, Umade, revealed that he was a blacksmith and had manufactured the weapons.
Umade said, “I learned the art of making weapons from my late father, who died when I was in High School 3. He (the late father) could only make single-barrel rifles. I left school to pick up where my father left off”.
“But I made research through some books on how to make AK-47s, SNGs, revolvers, even pump guns. I buy the metal from scavengers to make the rifles. I’m not the only one who make guns in my hometown. Our traditional heads gave us strict warnings not to sell them to strangers.”
“We only use them to defend ourselves from the shepherds who invade our community. Every time the shepherds came to attack us, people brought us their single-barrel rifles to repair them. In such attacks, the community would donate money to buy the materials to make single-barrel rifles for our defence.

“A man, named Mayaki, came to the village to buy four guns from me for N30,000 with the promise of sending me the money. I had to come to Lagos in search of him because I needed money to prepare for my second son, who is on his way.”
“Mayaki put us up in a hotel and still asked me to be patient while he got money to pay for it. Later, he brought two of the rifles through one of my brothers (pointing to one of the suspects).
We were at the hotel when the Police came to arrest us. Our traditional heads will be very disappointed when they hear this.”

Another suspect, James Tsebe, said his job was to find buyers for the two guns returned by Mayaki, while Anzuur said he had only accompanied Umade to Lagos because it was his first time in the city, and that he was at the hotel to pick up the N20,000 he had given Umade as transport to Lagos.

The suspects were taken to the Police Commissioner, CP Hakeem Odumosu, among others who had been arrested for various crimes in the state.
The Police Chief explained that information was received from a reliable source that some arms dealers based in the Adipo area of Benue State brought weapons and ammunition to the Ajah area of Lagos to sell to some armed robbers and cult members.

“According to this information, SARS personnel were mobilized to Ajah to closely monitor the area. The exercise paid off, as three of the arms dealers were arrested.”
“It turned out that the suspects often sell weapons to their collaborators in Lagos. They have been in the illegal business for two years.”
“The investigation is ongoing and the suspects will be tried in Court as soon as the investigation is concluded” CP Odomosu said.