By Ayo Kehinde
Immediate past governor of Ogun State and now, Senator, Ibikunle Amosun has responded to allegations of illegal arms purchase as was reported by an online news portal on Monday
In a detailed statement signed by his Media Aide, Rotimi Durojaiye on Tuesday, Amosun stated that contrary to the insinuations in the report that he had breached the law in the arms purchase with dire implications for the security of the state when he kept in his custody 1,000 AK47 Rifles, 4 million bullets acquired before the 2019 elections, he never handed over a single AK47 to the police on the said Tuesday, 28 May, 2019. He said the arms were purchased according to rigorous laid down procedures.
He also said the current governor of the state and his successor, Chief Dapo Abidoun is aware of the transactions surrounding the arms purchase as he, Abiodun, supplied some of the gadgets like the Armoured Personnel Carriers. APC.
In Amosun’s response titled: RE: “AMOSUN SURRENDERS 1,000 AK47 RIFLES, 4MILLION BULLETS ACQUIRED BEFORE 2019 ELECTIONS “- SETTING THE RECORDS STRAIGHT, he said in part that; “ It is important to clarify that NOT A SINGLE AK 47 RIFLE was handed over at the event … on the particular exercise of 28 May, 2019 … done openly in the full glare of the public and the media to ensure accountability, guarantee transparency and judicious use of the assets.
He explained that he took the decision to engage in the arms purchase in order to assist the security agencies to confront the insecurity that stared the state on its face when he assumed office in May 2011, at a time “political assassinations, unnatural and unexplained deaths were prevalent as Cultism, Kidnapping for ransom, violent crime and tertiary institutions related criminality” almost ground business to a standstill in the state.
He said: “Out of 36 as industries and corporations fled the State in droves. Senator Ibikunle Amosun took the firm view that nothing would thrive in an atmosphere of insecurity. He therefore decided, that early, to confront the myriad security challenges headlong and thereby open up Ogun State to private investment under a secured environment.
“ The SIA administration convened a security Parley amongst all stakeholders. The Parley gave rise to the Ogun State Security Trust Fund (STF) under the leadership of a former Nigerian National Security Adviser. The deliberations and recommendations of the STF and the far-reaching initiatives of Government have delivered consistent peace of mind, economic prosperity and social progress for all within the borders of Ogun State and even beyond since 2012. We note with immense pride that the same Ogun State, generally regarded as a back-water State in terms of security rallied round strongly to emerge as one of the most peaceful and the best place to work and live in Nigeria.
“ The SIA administration sought help from the then President Goodluck Jonathan led Federal Government. First, we sought and got approval to set up “OP MESA” for Ogun State. We followed this up with the specialized QRS unit. We committed substantial funds into procurement of hard and soft ware, and, myriad security assets to decisively combat our security challenges. We got all necessary approvals from the Office of the National Security Adviser to procure the 13 units of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs), the 1000 units of AK 47 rifles, 2 Million rounds of ammunition,1000 units of Bullet proof vests and 500 bullet proof helmets and other security communication gadgets. Ogun State not only got approval to import these essential assets, the Federal administration under President Goodluck Jonathan, gave all requisite approvals to assist the State.
“The Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) issued the State the End User Certificate Serial Number 000001123 dated 5thof March, 2012. The Federal Ministry of Finance also granted Import Duty Exemption Certificate through a letter from the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy with Reference Number BO/R.10260/S.4/T.4/22 dated 10th April, 2012. Indeed the supplier was an accredited agent of the Nigeria Police Force nominated for the job by the Force who also monitored and supervised the transaction. The security materials were cleared through the Murtala Muhammed Airport and confirmed through Nigeria Customs Memo NCS/MMAC/012/S.1. The materials were publicly handed over to the Inspector General of Police MD Abubakar on 22ndApril, 2012 wherein he acknowledged, “I have served in all six geographical zones of this country. I have never seen the kind of equipment you are donating to security agents today. This is the first of such maximum donation I have ever seen since I have been serving as a police officer”.
“Without going into the details and thereby breaching conventions, suffice to say categorically that the AK47 rifles were supplied directly to the Nigeria Police, Ogun State Command. The rest of the merchandise were securely kept in the approved designated armoury within the Government House precincts under police surveillance as it obtains in most Government Lodges, to guarantee exclusive use of the materials in Ogun state. These are not matters for the public.
“The suggestion that the security assets were quickly handed over to the Police in order that the new administration will not know about it is laughable because the current Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, MFR was the main supplier of some of the assets in question, notably, the Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs).
“ As a Governor who understood and took the responsibilities of his office seriously, Senator Amosun was mindful to account for and properly hand over the remainder of the security items to the Police and the new Administration. On 28 May, 2019, the last of the APCs, and all other security assets under the custody of Ogun State Government were passed over to the Police in full glare of the media and general public. We believed that was the surest way to prevent these assets getting into the wrong hands…”, he added.
