By Enyichukwu Enenanna
The Nigerian Police has placed ban on the issuance of licenses for small arms in the country, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun announced.
“We are mopping up arms in circulation. There are too many arms in circulation and if we continue to issue licenses on arms, we may continue to aggravate the problems we are trying to solve,” Egbetokun said while responding to questions from reporters during a meeting with Police Assistant Inspectors General and Commissioners of Police at the Force headquarters, Abuja.
“For now, there is temporary ban on issuance of firearms. We May review it later, but we are not issueing firearms licenses nationwide now,” Egbetokun who recently took over from ex-IGP Usman Alkali Baba stated.
The Firearm Act has been responsible for the control of firearms in Nigeria for the past years.
The Act provides that no person shall have in his possession or under his control, any firearm or ammunition except such person has a license from the President or the Inspector General of Police.
