Audu Adamu Madaki, the Commissioner of Police in Adamawa State has revealed how herdsmen use their cattle to conceal and smuggle dangerous firearms into Nigeria.
At a briefing on the security situation and the wave of kidnappings in the state on Wednesday in Yola, Madaki said three “repentant” kidnappers who turned in two AK47 rifles, informed him on how they used their cattle to carry arms from Cameroon into Nigeria.
He said, “Yesterday, we harvested three repentant kidnappers who voluntarily walked into my office, confessed to have been kidnappers; but have now repented and surrendered two AK-47s to the command.
“The herdsmen explained to me that they normally concealed the firearms in sacks of personal effects and strap them on the back of a cow and then immigrate to a chosen destination.”
On how and where they obtained the firearms, the police chief said, “They told me that they purchased them from the Republic of Cameroon and moved them into Nigeria through the bush path to beat immigration and other security agents along the border.”
He added that the “repentant kidnappers” were led into his office by an official of the Miyetti Allah, an umbrella body for Fulani herdsmen.