The Presidential Committee on Small and Light Weapons says the Federal Government has concluded arrangements with the German government to train beneficiaries of the Benue State Amnesty Programme.
Chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Emmanuel Imohe, disclosed this at the destruction of over 1,500 assorted weapons allegedly seized from Benue’s most wanted robbery gang leader, Mr Terwase Akwaza and other armed robbery suspects in the north-central state.
Giving statistics on illegal handling of arms on Tuesday in Makurdi, Ambassador Imohe, who was represented by Mr Dickson Orji, said that at least eight million illicit arms were believed to be in some Nigerians’ possession.
Governor Samuel Ortom began the official destruction exercise with his deputy, Mr Benson Abounu, after inspecting the cache of assorted arms.
He restated his administrations’ commitment to training all those who embraced the amnesty programme.
Governor Ortom, however, warned that those who reneged on the programme and went back to crime would be dealt with.
He hinted that the exercise would continue till Friday and promised to hunt down all known criminals in the state.
