The family of Ugochukwu Ozuah, who was killed a few days after his wedding, will today play host to a team of policemen sent by the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar. Saturday Sun gathered that the IG’s team arrived Lagos yesterday from Abuja and would visit the Ozuah family today between 8am and 10am. Sources close to the police revealed that the team’s visit is for the police to commiserate with the family as well as assure them that investigation would commence in earnest on the murder. The team would also get vital information from members of Ozuah’s family on the murder. The IG had instituted an investigation panel from the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, to take over the investigation of the murder case of Ozuah. The team takes over from the Lagos State Police Command, which was previously handling the investigation. It will be recalled that Ozuah was brutally murdered along Gbagada Expressway, in Anthony Village area of Lagos. He was shot in the chest while seeing off a friend. According to his friend, who witnessed the incident and members of the deceased’s family, Ozuah was shot by a policeman. Speaking during the week, Mrs. Nkechi Nonyelu, the deceased’s elder sister, said that the police have a case to answer in the murder of Ozuah. She said that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Anthony Village police station and his men should tell the world what happened to her brother. She said: “My brother and his friend got to the junction and saw a car being inspected by the police. Naturally, they needed not panic and they went on their own to get a cab for the friend. And the next thing, one of the policemen accosted them and shot Ugo. “Now the PPRO is asking why did the friend run away and not take his friend to the hospital But it is not his responsibility to do that…The DPO himself said he got to the scene of the crime and saw Ugo jerking and struggling for life, but he did not o anything.”

Recent discoveries of illegal firearms in different parts of the country prior to the 2015 general elections are
worrisome. Such arms build-up portends great danger to the nation’s democracy and internal security. In
Anambra State alone, the police discovered two private armouries in Oraifite and Uli, in Ekwusigo and
Ihiala Local Government Areas respectively. The consignments of dangerous arms and ammunition were found in the homes of two robbery kingpins.
Arms recovered from the two arms depots by the operatives of the State’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(SARS) and the Inspector-General of Police Special Task Force on Heinous Crimes include numerous
AK47 rifles and magazines, rockets and rocket launchers, grenades and assorted rounds of high calibre
live ammunition. Similar arms hauls have been made in Lagos, Benue, Kogi, Kaduna and Delta States. For instance, in March this year, officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Mohammed
International Airport (MMIA) Command, discovered 11 cartons of lethal explosives reportedly flown into the
country from South Africa by an unnamed Nigerian importer. The NCS also made similar discoveries at
Apapa ports. The Benue State Police Command recovered consignments of small arms and ammunition
and other dangerous weapons between March and July this year. The police in Kogi, Kaduna and Delta States also recovered sundry arms and ammunition from
unauthorised individuals. Also, in Ondo State, the Police recently raised an alarm over the influx of
firearms into the hands of politicians and their hired hoodlums preparatory to the forthcoming gubernatorial
election in the state. Undoubtedly, other states in the federation are not free from these stockpiling of illegal arms, either for
political thuggery or armed banditry. The increasing number of private illegal armouries in different parts of
the country should be of great concern to those in charge of the nation’s security. Possession of fire-arms
by unauthorized persons is dangerous. It is capable of compromising public safety in addition to the
nation’s internal security. Although this development is not entirely new, what we find troubling is that the
arms depots are now filled with sophisticated weapons like rocket launchers and other weapons of mass destruction. The arms build-up is particularly dangerous now that talks about the 2015 election are starting
to heat up the polity. It is public knowledge that politicians deploy such arms to illegal use during elections
to scare away their opponents and thwart the electoral process. And after the elections, such arms end up
in the hands of robbers and other hoodlums. The proliferation of arms depots in the country is an indication
of future danger if nothing is done now to stop the trend now. The fact that these arms come into the
country unhindered underscores the porous nature of our borders. It also shows that those in charge of our border security are not doing enough to safeguard them. If they
had been more diligent in their work, the country will not be witnessing frequent infiltration of illegal
weapons as we have it now. Let those importing these arms with the aim of obstructing the electoral
process desist. They should understand that with availability of social media, rigging of election is now
more difficult. Our politicians should also understand that winning election is now beyond the decision of one powerful
chieftain. The 2015 election will be entirely different as voters have become wiser and can go to any length
to defend their votes. However, security agencies should wake up, track these illegal armouries and mop
up the arms and ammunition that are already in wrong hands. All those behind this heinous act should be
apprehended and brought to justice. Arms proliferate in the country because past gun runners have not been apprehended, tried and convicted.
We call for a departure from the seeming lethargy in apprehending and prosecuting illegal arms dealers and
importers in the country. If some of those bringing in these dangerous weapons are tried and convicted, it
will deter others from doing the same thing.