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Are they preparing for elections or a civil war? 2015: Arms importation to Nigeria rises

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armsAs preparations for the 2015 general elections* and* 2014 governorship  elections in Ekiti and Osun states gather steam, there are strong  indications of increase in the smuggling of arms and ammunition into the  country.Saturday PUNCH also learnt that the demand for imported bulletproof cars had increased in the last few months.A report of the Nigeria Customs Service obtained by our correspondents  on Thursday showed that the records of seizures of arms and ammunition  in 2013 by the Nigeria Customs Service were seven times more than those  of 2012. The police also gave indications of a rise in the number of  arms in circulation even though its spokesperson did not give a definite  figure.The Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, said in Abuja  on Thursday that the service now seizes contraband including arms and  ammunition daily.* He said the agency* had beefed up security along the  nation’s borders to curtail the influx of arms and ammunition into the  country.“We know the porosity of our borders, we had to change patrol strategies  and the patrol strategy that we are using now is yielding dividends, we  are making seizures of contraband on daily basis including arms and  ammunitions,” he said.Late Thursday, the State Security Service Operatives intercepted  high-calibre ammunition in a 20-foot container at the Port Harcourt*  Port in River State.The vessel identified as MV Iron Trader was carrying 2,700 anti-aircraft and anti-tank bombs, according to security sources.The Customs report entitled, “2013 Summary of Suppression of  Smuggling/Seizures Report,” showed that the arms and ammunition were  seized at* airports, seaports, creeks and border stations nationwide.The report is prepared by the Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection  Department of the NCS and it details the general anti-smuggling  activities of the agency for a specified year.Specifically, the report showed that the cases of seizures represented  an increase of about 700 per cent when compared with the single seizure  recorded in 2012.Analysts say the increase in smuggling of arms and ammunitions to the  country might not be unconnected with the increase in political  activities towards the 2015 general elections and other governorship  elections this year given the violence that usually accompanied* past  electoral activities in the country.The Independent National Electoral Commission had announced the  timetable for the 2015 general elections and* governorship elections in  Ekiti and Osun states last Friday.Though the electoral body is yet to give the go-ahead for the  commencement of political* campaigns,* many politicians including the  Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, have indicated their interest  in contesting in the oncoming elections.The 2007 governorship election turned bloody in Osun State when  thousands of residents, who felt that the election was rigged by the  Peoples Democratic Party took to the streets, burning houses and  properties. Soldiers and policemen were drafted to quell the uprising,  which spread from Osogbo to Ilesa, the hometown of Action Congress of  Nigeria candidate in the election, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, who eventually  emerged as governor after three and a half years of legal battle.No fewer than eight persons were killed in the countdown to the election  while about three persons lost their lives on the day of election,  which gave a contentious victory to the PDP candidate, Prince Olagunsoye  Oyinlola.The latest in the series of political violence in Ekiti State was the  killing of a supporter of the House of Representatives member  representing Ado/Irepodun Ifelodun Constituency, Opeyemi Bamidele, who  was shot dead at Emure Ekiti during a political rally.The 1983 general elections erupted in violence in Ondo State when the  Federal Electoral Commission declared the candidate of the National  Party of Nigeria, Chief Akin Omoboriowo, as the winner of the  governorship election.A month-by-month analysis of ammunitions seized by the NCS, showed that  the agency recorded the highest seizure of 56,570 in May 2013 and the  lowest of 49 seizures in April.Findings by one of our correspondents revealed that the seizure of  56,570 rounds of ammunition was recorded in Oyo/Osun Command of the NCS*  and it was the highest ever recorded in the history of the  anti-smuggling agency. Oyo State is one of the country’s border states  sharing boundaries with the Republic of Benin.It was gathered that the ammunition, which were neatly loaded in 227  cartons, and conveyed in a vehicle, were concealed in bags packed with  dried cassava tubers.Adeniyi emphasised the importance of intelligence gathering and said it  was one of the* viable ways by which security agencies could*  effectively stem* the influx of illegal weapons into the country.He said, “Intelligence plays a very crucial role in interception of  smuggled goods particularly arms and ammunition. People must be willing  to give us intelligence reports; they should not just abandon the job  of** intelligence reports* to the* customs and other security agencies  alone.“We will continue to intensify our efforts to ensure that dangerous  cargoes that could impede on national security are not allowed into the  country. We will continue to count on the assistance of well meaning  Nigerians* to give us

information.”Bulletproof carsThough statistics of the total number of bulletproof vehicles imported  into the country* in the last few months could not be obtained from the  Customs, a key player in the sector said the demand* for imported  bulletproof* cars had risen from about 800 to 1,500 annually.“When you talk about the normal passenger vehicles, I think it is about  500 and 800 in a year. There are Armoured Personnel Carriers imported by  the Police and the Customs. By the time you add the ones imported by  the military, you will be talking of about 1,500 in a year,” the Chief  Executive Officer,* Proforce* Limited, Mr. Adetokunbo Ogundeyin, said.Ogundeyin explained that demand for bulletproof** vehicles might not be unconnected with political* activities in the country.“We are having another election next year. Politics in this country is a  bit of do-or-die. A lot of people just feel that they will be insecure.  So, they want to protect themselves. That is one reason.“The other reason is the level of threat to life in the Northern area. I  am talking about the Boko Haram issue. Unfortunately, the situation is  escalating; people feel threatened in the North, and it is even  spreading to the South. This is the reason why people feel they have to  be protected. Armed robbery is also a factor.”Saturday PUNCH findings also reveal that the police have sent  operatives* to the nation’s ports, where weapons are concealed inside  innocuous imports and brought in illegally into the country to be used  by desperate politicians.The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Frank Mba, who confirmed this in  Abuja, explained that the arms embargo policy was a deliberate move to  check the flow of illegal arms as the nation prepared for the elections.Mba could, however, not give data of the weapons so far seized in the  last six months. He promised to get back to one of our correspondents  but later said he could not get specific figures.He stated that the Force Intelligence Department had been re-organised  for better performance, stressing that the police were better prepared  to nip in the bud any threat to public peace and order.Mba noted that there had not been any report of assassination or cases  of threat to life by politicians in recent times.* He said, “We believe  that there would always be conflict and political disagreement but not  all disagreements lead to violence. In any case, we are watching the  political scene and we are ready to call to order anyone that takes any  action that may lead to a breach of public peace.”Meanwhile, human rights activists have reacted to reports of arms  increase in the country by calling on the government to take national  security more seriously.A human rights lawyer, Wahab Shittu, said the country “is sitting on a keg of gun powder capable of exploding at anytime.”Shittu also described the Customs report as “quite worrisome,  disturbing, very frightening and constituting a fundamental threat to  national security.”* He added that government at all levels had a lot of  work to do to guarantee safety of lives and properties.Attributing the increase in the arms seizure at the borders to  multi-dimensional factors, Shittu also suggested multi-dimensional  solutions to the problem.He said, “There are lots of crises taking place in the neighbouring  countries and we are beginning to see the effects here. The increase can  be attributed to multi-dimensional factors which include the build up  to 2015 elections, deep-seated grievances by the ethnic nationalities  that constitute the Nigerian federation, poverty, the rising rate of  unemployment and the collapsing ethical and moral values.“The solutions are also multidimensional because there is a little of  religious extremism, politics, hunger, poverty and a collapse of values  in the society. The situation necessitates collaboration between our  country and the neighbouring countries through the exchange of  intelligence and information.”Another human rights lawyer, Fred Agbaje, however, blamed the Customs  Service for the increasing smuggling of arms and ammunition into the  country, describing the agency’s claims as false.He said, “The figure they are parading is shameful and embarrassing when  compared with the level of banditry in Nigeria today. The arms and  ammunition that hoodlums are using in Nigeria all came in through the  borders, which are patrolled by Customs and other agencies of the  Federal Government.“Customs service has woefully failed Nigerians in terms of checking the  sophisticated weapons that are arriving the borders of this country on a  daily basis. The situation has created a lot of fear in the minds of  Nigerians and come 2015 elections, it’s going to be worse. The earlier  the Federal Government addresses the problem of insecurity, the better,  particularly with regards to arms proliferation.”Copyright PUNCH.
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