The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has uncovered the alleged diversion and illegal sale of service rifles by some of its personnel, leading to the arrest of suspects and the recovery of an AK-47 rifle.
The NSCDC spokesperson, Babawale Afolabi, disclosed this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, saying the discoveries were made by the Commandant-General’s Special Intelligence Squad, CG’s SIS, as part of efforts to curb the diversion of service weapons and other criminal activities.
Afolabi said the investigation led to the arrest of an NSCDC personnel at the corps’ headquarters who was allegedly involved in the diversion of an AK-47 rifle.
According to him, the CG’s SIS, headed by Commander Dandaura Appollos, uncovered the alleged offence through intelligence gathering and surveillance.
Afolabi said the unnamed personnel allegedly removed the rifle from his duty post after his shift instead of returning it to the armoury.
He said investigations revealed that the personnel concealed the weapon in two polythene bags, abandoned his duty post without authorization and transported the rifle to Otukpo, Benue State.
“The investigation revealed that the officer subsequently delivered the rifle to someone in Otukpo under a prior arrangement for N700,000,” he said. He added that the buyer allegedly resold the AK-47 to an illicit arms dealer identified as IBB for N800,000.
The NSCDC spokesperson said the principal suspect allegedly attempted to conceal the offence when questioned about the missing weapon and tried to sign out another rifle.
“Through covert tracking, surveillance and tactical interrogation, the intelligence team apprehended the principal suspects and recovered the AK-47 rifle,” he said.
In a separate operation, Afolabi said the CG’s SIS uncovered the alleged systematic diversion of two G3 rifles from an NSCDC armoury between 2018 and 2024.
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He said the investigation implicated a personnel who served as head of the armoury at the NSCDC Adamawa Command.
According to him, the senior officer allegedly removed the rifles from the armoury without authorisation and sold them to junior personnel in separate transactions for N210,000 and N220,000. “The investigation further revealed that the personnel allegedly resold the rifles to a civilian,” he said.
Afolabi said the senior officer allegedly falsified weekly armoury records to conceal the disappearance of the firearms during routine stocktaking.
He explained that after the officer’s assistant physically counted the available weapons, the senior officer allegedly altered the register by handwriting the serial numbers of the missing rifles into the stock records.
“The manipulation allegedly created the impression that the firearms remained physically present in the armoury,” he said.
He, however, said the CG’s SIS investigation exposed the alleged pattern of diversion and led to the recovery of confessional and other evidentiary statements from key actors.
Afolabi said the intelligence breakthrough underscored the corps’ renewed efforts to strengthen armoury accountability and prevent service weapons from being diverted into the hands of criminals. “Internal disciplinary procedures against errant officers have been concluded.
“The NSCDC Commandant General, Ahmed Audi, has directed the Directorate of Legal Services, DLS, to immediately institute legal proceedings against all suspects across these four segments in courts of competent jurisdiction,” he said.
Afolabi also said the CG’s SIS had intercepted a suspected telecommunications vandalism syndicate. He said one of the suspects was arrested while allegedly attempting to cart away 12 telecommunications panels removed from a vandalized equipment cabinet.
According to him, preliminary findings indicated that the vandalism and theft, allegedly carried out for financial gain, had been ongoing for a long period.
“The NSCDC DLS is currently securing a 60-day remand order alongside search and arrest warrants to enable the CG’s SIS apprehend the fleeing syndicate members across Delta and Kano states,” he said.
NAN
