Police recover 179 illegal firearms in Rivers

The Police Command in Rivers says it has recovered 179 arms and 577 cartridges from members of the public.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Zaki Ahmed, said this on Tuesday in Port Harcourt at a news briefing.
Ahmed listed the recovered firearms to include 27 AK47 rifles; 51 locally made pistols; 33 single barrel guns; 29 double barrel guns; 21 pump action guns and other 18 assorted ones.
He recalled that the Inspector-General of Police had given a 21-day ultimatum to members of the public to surrender their illegal firearms to the police.
He said the command had set up an eight-man Task Force headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of operations to mop-up illegal firearms in the state.
The commissioner said that the task force had embarked on sensitisation and advocacy visits to all the local government areas in the state to that effect.
He said the mop-up compliance in the state had been commendable, noting that the exercise was ongoing.
He said: “I am, therefore, appealing to members of the public to once again cash in on the window to submit their illegal firearms before the expiration of the deadline or force will be used.”
Ahmed said the command was always making efforts to protect lives and property and urged residents of the state to go about their lawful businesses without fear of molestation.