Illegal weapons: Gov Lalong offers amnesty to culprits in Plateau

By; BUHARI B. BELLO, Jos.
Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong has promised “amnesty” to any one who surrender illegally acquired weapons  in the state even as Special Task Force made forceful recovery.
He stated this when the Commander of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), Major-General Rogers Nicholas took him round to inspect a collection of weapons confiscated by the Task Force from hoodlums.
The weapons included cartridges, pistols, rifles, locally fabricated rocket launchers and an anti-aircraft gun, among others.
Disturbed by the large number of the sophisticated weapons, Lalong expressed “amnesty programme for all those in possession of illegal firearms and light weapons in the state“.
According to Nicholas, some of the firearms are imported and distributed to the people by some selfish politicians and war merchants in the state.
According to him, the technicians whose skills are available to the military and other legitimate areas of the economy, designed the weapons for mass destructions.
Lalong said that the government is working on further an amnesty programme for those willing to release illegal weapons in their possession.
He used the occasion to give reasons for his administration’s recent policy, which banned the activities of the Shi’ites sect in the state.
“As you all know, the movement (Shiites) has already been banned in their headquarters in Kaduna.
“I am appealing to them. Plateau is a peaceful state. Any little thing of religion could be volatile and could engulf the whole nation.
“Whoever is bringing the issue of religion again back to Plateau should please take it back to where it is coming from. We are consolidating on the peace we have in the state,” he said.
It could be recalled that the state government had in the past during the state emergency period made similar pledged without successful results.