A family of gunmakers found with firearms in their illegal gun-making factory by the police in Akwa Ibom State and the interception of firearms by the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 2, South-West, Lagos at a place in Oyo State further highlighted the country’s security challenges.

Following a tip-off, operatives of the Akwa Ibom State Police Command had raided the gun factory ran by a father and his sons, where they said “firearms of various types were fabricated and sold to criminals.” They notably seized seven newly made single-barrel guns, five newly made double-barrel guns, one special steel double-trigger pistol, one broken single-barrel gun, one trigger-handle walking stick knife, and several cut iron pipes used for constructing gun barrels.

The State Commissioner of Police, Joseph O. Eribo told journalists that during the operation “one David Nse Emmanuel was arrested, while his father, Akpan Nse Emmanuel, and his brothers, who jointly run the business, fled.” He said the police were making efforts to apprehend the fleeing suspects and trace people who had purchased or ordered firearms from them.

It is unclear how long the gun-making factory had existed, and why its existence was unknown to law enforcement agents before now. This case shows why members of the public should be vigilant and help security agencies to fight crime by supplying useful information. The police should follow up with a manhunt for the suspects on the run, and ensure they are caught and prosecuted. The involvement of a father and his sons is a shocking dimension. There should be no room for such a family of criminals in society.

This is troubling indeed. A comparable incident in March, when men of the 63 Brigade of the Nigerian Army raided an illegal gun factory in Onicha Olona community, Aniocha North Local Government Area, Delta State, shows that there may well be many others in the country who are running illegal gun-making factories as a family business. At the time, the army said: “Eight suspects involved in the family business including the mastermind of the operation, his father, mother, and sister were among those arrested at the factory.”

the coordinator of the Joint Border Patrol Team Sector 2, Mohammed Shuaibu, a Deputy Controller of Customs, told journalists that his team “intercepted six pieces of pump action rifles and 1,125 live cartridges concealed in a sack containing cassava flakes along Okerete-Ododo Bush in Oyo State.” He said the rifles were loaded in a Toyota saloon car.

The joint border patrol team was inaugurated in August 2019 to tackle security challenges at the country’s international borders caused by the proliferation of smuggled small and light weapons, among others.

The Office of the National Security Adviser, which coordinates the management of the team, works closely with the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Police, the Immigration Service, the Department of State Services, and the National Intelligence Agency.The Nigeria Customs Service is the lead agency in the arrangement designed to ensure improved security at the country’s borders.

Weapons falling into the wrong hands contribute to the country’s security crisis.The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the security forces seized 10,200 weapons and 224,709 ammunition from terrorists and other non-state actors this year.

Figures from the Institute of Security Studies saying Nigeria accounts for 70 percent of about 500 million illegal weapons in circulation in West Africa, and another report that puts the number of small arms in the hands of civilians in Nigeria at around 6.15 million, give an insight into the scale of the problem.

President Bola Tinubu recently unveiled the Nigeria Immigration Service Technology Innovation Complex named after him in Abuja. The facility will ascertain the risk level of persons entering the country, detect irregular migration patterns and monitor unmanned borders in hard-to-reach areas nationwide. Its unveiling is an innovative move to use technology to secure the country’s borders.This facility is expected to help curb the illegal inflow of weapons into the country.

In the final analysis, the authorities must ensure that illegal firearms are not in circulation within the country.(The Nation Editorial)