Police have intercepted a truck in Kano carrying weapons and supplies allegedly belonging to members of the outlawed Islamic Movement in Nigeria popularly known as Shiites.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, the spokesman for the Kano State Police Command, Mr Magaji Majia, said that the truck was coming from Potiskum in Yobe State and was said to be going to Zaria where the Shiites were marking the Arba’een ritual of the killing of Imam Hussain.
“You can see the weapons made up of cutlasses catapult, generators and other supplies and the truck full of clothes and flags of the movement.”
According to Majia, the weapons are illegal and capable of killing its target on the spot.
“You can remember few days ago, members of this movement attacked and killed one police officer and injuring three others during their illegal procession. Since then, we embarked on investigation, including stop and search, to see if it is true they are carrying dangerous weapons, the results of such investigation led us to this discovery,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, store keeper of the group, who maintained that he was not aware that weapons were among the supplies he was escorting to Zaria, also disclosed that the weapons were used to construct tents in an event of stop over during the course of their seven day trek to Zaria.
“We don’t carry weapons. I am not aware the weapons are here but we use them to make tent and to protect women and children against intruders especially at night since we are all trekking”.
In a raid in Kano, over 40 people were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Service (DSS) at the popular Wapa Bureau De Change market in the state.
Although no official statement from the DSS in Kano was issued to that effect, association of the Bureau De Change in the state through the union auditor general one Kabir Abdul confirmed the arrest.
“They came in arresting people on allegation that we are selling dollars above government approved price and up till this time we don’t know where they are keeping our members,” Mr Abdul told Channels Television.
Attempts to speak with DSS was not successful, as the spokesman for the agency told channels Television that he was on leave and that he had no knowledge that Wapa Bureau De Change market was raided by his operatives.