On August 6, 2009, operatives of the Rivers State Police Command have raided an alleged arms depot linked to Niger Delta militant leader Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo-Asari, recovering a cache of weapons and ammunition in Rumuodemanya, Port Harcourt.
A senior police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said the raid followed a tip-off. Items recovered include 26 brand new AK-47 rifles, one K.2 rifle, 11 boxes of live ammunition, 900 rounds of 7.62mm bullets, and 68 magazines.
Two suspects, Kingsley Solomon and Dapriye Dappa, were paraded at the Command headquarters on Moscow Road. Both sustained injuries during the encounter.
According to police, Dokubo-Asari was not at the scene. The police further stated that efforts are ongoing to track an alleged stockpile of about 4,000 rifles said to have been imported into the country.
Dokubo-Asari’s lawyer, Festus Keyamo, confirmed the recovery but denied his client’s involvement in gun-running.
“The boys were gathering the weapons to be surrendered in line with the ongoing amnesty exercise of government when the police swooped on them,” Keyamo stated.
The statement comes weeks after President Umaru Yar’Adua granted amnesty to Niger Delta militants on June 25. Under the program, militants were asked to surrender weapons at designated screening centers between August 6 and October 4 in exchange for an unconditional pardon.
Prince Wisdom Amachree, aka “General Adekunle,” who identified himself as Dokubo-Asari’s second-in-command, said he facilitated the arrests.
He alleged the weapons were procured “to prosecute its plan to severe the region from the federation” and claimed the group had acquired over 4,000 sophisticated rifles, with more expected.
“I had to bring in the police when I realised the need to protect the unity of the country,” Amachree told reporters at police headquarters.
