Following a tip-off from neighbours, Department of State Service, Niger State Command agents attacked a residence in Kulobe hamlet in the Gbeganu area of Minna, Niger State, and uncovered a big cache of AK-47 rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The guy was alleged to have noticed the operatives approaching his house on his Close Circuit Television camera and engaged them in a gun duel.
The incident happened on Tuesday between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. when the suspect was said to have used a rocket launcher to bring down part of the fence of his house, through which he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind his wife and children, who were taken into custody by the security operatives.
According to a security source, who said he was in the house when the DSS was taking inventory of the weapons, over 150 AK-47 riffles, explosives, a rocket launcher, an anti-aircraft rifle, and ammunition, numbering over 3,000 were evacuated from the suspect’s house and carted away to the office of the DSS.
Some residents of the community and neighbors around the community, who confirmed that they heard the loud exchange of gunfire and the rocket launcher when it was fired, said that they had yet to recover from the shock of the incident.
“We thought bandits had invaded our community. The heavy sound of the guns between the terrorist and the security operatives were too heavy. Some of my electronics and furniture were destroyed. The loud noise sounded like there were many bandits,” he said.
It was further gathered that following the indiscriminate shooting by the suspect, a night watchman living next door, Mubarak Abubakar, was hit by a stray bullet and is currently receiving treatment at the IBB Specialist Hospital in Minna.
The spokesman for the Niger State Police Command, Abiodun Wasiu, who was contacted, said he would investigate and get back to our correspondent. However, he had yet to get back as of the time of filing this report.
Credit: The Punch
