Nigerian soldiers have arrested a group of suspected bandits found patrolling with AK-47 rifles in a local security patrol vehicle in Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The suspects were intercepted by troops during an operation in the area and taken into custody. In a video trending online, the suspects were spotted prostrated on the ground with their hands tied as soldiers interrogated them over their activities and the source of the arms in their possession.
During the interrogation, one of the suspects, speaking in Hausa and Nigerian Pidgin, claimed that the vehicle and rifles were provided by the Kwara State Government.
According to him, they had been operating in the area under the guise of patrol duties for some time.
“We have been here for quite a while. We are using the vehicle for patrol. Wallahi, na the truth I dey tell you,” the suspect said in the video.
“Ilorin government na him give us this motor and the weapons. They were the ones that gave us the rifles.”
The suspect further alleged that the arms were not personally collected by him but by their superior, whom he referred to as “our oga,” insisting that multiple individuals were involved.
“We are not the ones that collected the rifles; it was our oga that collected them. I know because I was with them. We go patrol many times with them, including oga Victor. All of them are involved. The weapons are theirs,” he claimed.
The suspect repeatedly insisted that the rifles did not belong to them, swearing by God that the weapons were not privately owned by the group.
The video also shows other detainees, whose hands were tied, were heard repeatedly chanting religious phrases as the questioning continued.
The Kwara State government has not issued an official response to the allegations made by the suspects.
Also, the Nigerian Army has not released a formal statement detailing the circumstances of the arrest or confirming the claims.
For years, there have been accusations that politicians are the ones sponsoring criminal elements, including terrorists and bandits. The recent accusation was against the Nigerian Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle. Matawalle was accused of having links with bandits, an allegation he has repeatedly denied.