Camels are now used to transport grenades, anti-aircraft guns and more to Nigeria – AKF sounds the alarm
The advisory forum Arewa, a pan-northern socio-political group, has sounded the alarm that camels are now being used to transport weapons into the country.
The group said the camels are being used to transport rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns across the country’s northern borders.
The AKF’s national president, leader Odu Ogbeh, who revealed this in a statement he personally signed, said the weapons were being brought into the country from neighboring countries.
The statement was titled “Our Borders and Insecurity” and was released on Thursday in Kaduna by the Forum’s National Advertising Secretary, Emmanuel Java.
However, he did not name a specific country, adding that the information was provided by ACF members from Sokoto and Zamfara states.
Nigeria, through the states of Sokoto and Zamfara, borders the Republic of Niger.
Ogbe said the organization is committed to alerting the federal government to the situation in order to take urgent and necessary action.
“There are already suggestions that dangerous weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns are part of the cargo freely transported by camels to our country from neighboring countries,” he declared.
According to the president of the ACF, the security forces do not inspect camels with weapons.
He added that it would be very beneficial for the country if the federal government could quickly deal with the situation.
Ogbe, a former minister of agriculture, also said that the ransom paid to the kidnappers was used to illegally buy weapons.
He said: “At the last meeting of our National Executive Council in October 2020, our members, especially from Sokoto and Zamfara, reported that large shipments of camels were crossing our borders to Nigeria every day with a lot of luggage on their backs.
“And they noticed that no one checks their luggage and no one knows what they bring to Nigeria.
“The Arewa Advisory Forum would like to ask the security authorities a question: what are the camels carrying and where are they going?
“The ACF is concerned that such a situation should persist at a time when weapons of all types penetrate our country, which worsens the atmosphere of national terror and uncertainty.”
He added, “It is now clear from what we know that when victims pay ransom to kidnappers, that money is instantly converted by the kidnappers into more sophisticated weapons and instruments of death.
“The capabilities of these terrorists are growing day by day, and we are not far from the time when terrorists will be better armed than our accredited security services.
“The ACF wants to warn the government about this situation if it does not know about it; and if they know about it, ask what they do about it.
“There are already suggestions that dangerous weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns are part of the cargo freely transported by camels to our country from neighboring countries.
“It will be very beneficial for the country to resolve this situation immediately. The ACF is deeply concerned. “
