The Plateau State Security Service (SSS), has arrested five persons including a staff of the State Polytechnic, Mr Gyang Dung, for alleged manufacture of illegal weapons in Jos, the state capital.
Director of the State Security Services, Mr Douglas Dogo, who paraded the suspects before journalists, disclosed that they were arrested last Thursday while assem-bling some local weapons.
Gyang Dung, 47, who is a technician with the Plateau State Polytechnic, admitted that they started the business of illegal weapons manufacture in 2001 under the cover of producing burglary proof metal doors and windows.
The syndicate which operate a complete machinery for the manufacture of weapons, has Markus Dung as the main manufacturer, assisted by Gyang Dung, the SSS director said.
Mr Dogo said investigations were still on to fish out customers of the syndicate, adding that ‘some have made it a point of duty through greed or selfishness to continue to manufacture local arms which are being sold to armed robbers and militias.”
He expressed the determination of the State Security Services to stamp out the manufacture and circulation of illegal weapons in the state “because there can be no peace with arms being ped-dled all over the place.”
Meanwhile, the SSS director said the case file of the suspects was being prepared and that they would soon be charged to court.
Meanwhile, the Plateau State government has commenced aerial surveillance of potential crisis areas, particularly the Southern part of the state.
The aerial surveillance was an additional security measure put in place by the administration to arrest any form of violence in the state.
Permanent secretary in charge of security in Plateau State, cabinet office, Mr Timothy Padlong, is leading the surveillance team being undertaken by a team of security and other government officials.
Speaking on the exercise, the team leader confirmed that the measure was greatly assisting security agencies to detect and control the outbreak of violence in the state.
He said they have received reports of certain happenings in Kadarko area of the state and “we are going on aerial surveillance to Kadarko we want to go and see. We are also going towards Yelwa, Shendam, Quan Pam,” assured
According to him, such surveillance exercise last week helped to identify a flood incident in Dengi area of the state, “We saw the rate of damage and assessed it ourselves.”
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