Police find illegal gun workshop, arrest seven in Yobe

The Yobe State Police have discovered an illegal gun-making workshop in Potiskum Local Government Area and arrested seven people suspected of making guns.

The police made the arrests during a raid on a blacksmith shop at Tasha Adua along Danchuwa Road in Potiskum on Monday.

This information was shared in a statement on Tuesday by the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dungus Abdulkarim.

“The Yobe State Police Command has recorded another significant breakthrough in its sustained efforts to combat crime and criminality across the state,” the statement said.

According to the statement, officers from the Potiskum Area Command, along with personnel from the Divisional Police Headquarters, conducted the operation after receiving information about the illegal gun-making in the area.

Abdulkarim mentioned that the suspects were caught and several items were seized from the workshop.

The items recovered included two handmade pistols, 24 muzzle pipes, nine gun butts, four damaged Dane guns, a filing machine, and a cutlass.

“The operation was carried out following credible intelligence on the activities of some blacksmiths engaged in the illegal fabrication of firearms,” Abdulkarim said.

He added that the suspects are now in custody and are being investigated to find possible accomplices, buyers, and the intended use of the weapons.

Abdulkarim also stated that the Commissioner of Police, Usman Kanfani Jibrin, has ordered a wider investigation to locate other illegal gun-making workshops and to evaluate the security risks caused by such activities.

He urged community members to stay alert and report any suspicious activities to the police.