Posted by By PHILIP NWOSU on
A large quantity of bullets for Kalashnikov and FN rifles have mysteriously disappeared from the armoury of the Nigerian Army inside Ikeja Military Cantonment.
A large quantity of bullets for Kalashnikov and FN rifles have mysteriously disappeared from the armoury of the Nigerian Army inside Ikeja Military Cantonment.
The ammunition, including 7.6mm and 9mm, which can be fired from AK 47 and FN rifles, commonly used in the Nigerian Armed Forces, disappeared after thieves broke into the armoury inside the Ikeja Military Cantonment.
Shocked that the ammunition could disappear from the armoury despite heavy security presence, the Nigerian Army has thrown its dragnet wide around the cantonment, in search of the thieves.
The force is yet to determine the quantity of the ammunition missing, but a key military source told Daily Sun that the quantity was large.
At the moment, a civilian has been arrested and some soldiers deployed to guard the armoury are being questioned on what happened to the ammunition.
The civilian, investigations revealed, was almost walking out of the cantonment with the stolen ammunition when he was arrested at the gate.
The soldiers, it was gathered, were being detained on the orders of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Major General Samaila Iliya, who had expressed deep disappointment with the 9 Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Frederick Enai over the missing ammunition.
However, the source said that upon interrogation, the civilian confessed to involvement of some other civilians, currently being sought by the army.
The source said the arrest of the civilian may have given a lead to what could have led to the ammunition dump explosion in January of 2002, in which hundreds of people were killed.
The ammunition were stored at Ikeja Military Cantonment and after it caught fire, shrapnel and heavy artillery, including bombs, rained on streets and roofs of houses in the neighbourhood. Many buildings, including Oshodi market and a church were affected by the flying shrapnel.
When Daily Sun met the Army Spokesman in Lagos, Colonel Alade Dabiri to speak on the matter, he declined to comment, saying, 'I am not aware of that."