Obasanjo accuses police of hiring guns to robbers

LAGOS – Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has accused the police of hiring guns to armed robbers for economic gains, his office told AFP yesterday.

Obasanjo was quoted as saying at the opening of a two-day security summit in Abuja on Tuesday that a situation whereby “police hire their guns to robbers” was criminal and worrisome. The president cited a recent report he got from the southern Rivers State where 142 AK rifles belonging to the police were recovered from robbers.”This quantity (of guns) is enough to equip a military company or enough to wage a war on a big city,” he lamented.He said customs officials assist smugglers to bring in contraband into the country after collecting bribes from them while religious leaders offer prayers to criminals in exchange for cash and material rewards.- Nampa-AFPThe president cited a recent report he got from the southern Rivers State where 142 AK rifles belonging to the police were recovered from robbers.”This quantity (of guns) is enough to equip a military company or enough to wage a war on a big city,” he lamented.He said customs officials assist smugglers to bring in contraband into the country after collecting bribes from them while religious leaders offer prayers to criminals in exchange for cash and material rewards.- Nampa-AFP