This came as the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Alex Badeh, said yesterday in Ilorin that nobody was safe in the country and called for proactive measures among states of the federation to curb the situation.
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The building is located few metres from the 1 Division Army Headquarters.
Brigadier-General Tagbo Chuks Ude, Commander, One Division, Internal Security Force, who briefed newsmen on the development said: “Our discovery followed a cordon and search operation carried out in the area by troops at about 5.30 pm, Tuesday. The building, housing the bomb making factory, will be demolished in line with Army’s resolve to deter terrorists from their activities.
Items recovered
“During the operation, the following items were recovered: Six AK 47 rifles; one light machine gun; one tear gas launcher; 27 loaded and17 empty AK 47 magzines; one FN rifle magazine; five sub-machine gun magazines; four pistols magazines; one loaded light machine gun magazine; 275 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO ammunition; 765 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition; 58 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
“Other weapons recovered during the operation include, 125 pieces of detonator-33; two reels of detonating cords; nine small cans of prepared impoverished explosive devices, IED; one paint can of prepared IED; nine pieces of nine-volt batteries; three bags of white chemical substances; five pieces of remote control switches; one reel of firing cable and six pieces of assorted car number plates.
“The recovered dangerous weapons were buried inside soak away pits, and underground within the building. I want to commend the efforts of the well-meaning citizens that reported the matter and also to reiterate our resolve to fight terrorism in the country.
“I still want to appeal to the public to report any suspicious movement, establishment or persons in their environment as such information would be treated with absolute confidentiality.
Six arrested
“We arrested two men, two children and two women in the house. As a matter of fact, the explosive contents of this paint can bring down the whole of this headquarters,1Division Headquarters.”
Ude said the house would be demolished as soon as it was cleared of all explosives.
He said: “Our normal process of demolishing the house is in progress. We are taking our time because we want to make sure that the general area is safe before we demolish it.”
Nobody is safe in Nigeria—Chief of Air Staff
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Badeh, who said nobody is safe in Nigeria, spoke during a courtesy visit on Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of KwaraState in Government House, Ilorin as part of his maiden familiarisation tour of Air Force formations in the state.
According to him,”from what we are witnessing in Nigeria today, nobody is safe in the country, and this is very sad. Everybody is worried. I think what we need to do is to take proactive measures. This is the only option we have to stop this trend.
“Apart from this, everybody must be involved, because effective security is the due responsibility of all Nigerians. The security operatives alone cannot do it, so there is the need for collaboration by the Nigerian people. When we help the government, we help ourselves. That is what security is all about and that is why there are results in developed countries. We must be conscious of the need to offer useful information that would assist the security in their work.
..Makes case for youth employment
”Idle hand is the devil’s work shop. Each government of the states of the federation must also ensure that sufficient number of youths are gainfully employed as this would also go a long way in ensuring that insecurity is reduced drastically.
“Each state should also be interested in ensuring that neighbouring states are safe. That is very crucial and that is why so much efforts should be spent in this regard because each state has its own peculiarity.”
The Air Force boss, noted that “the need to be proactive stemmed from the fact that if neighbouring states are not safe, then no particular state is safe”.
He also called for innovative technology in tackling insecurity, saying that ingenious ways are key to his vision in the Air Force.
Badeh, who said the Air Force was a strong arm of democracy in the country, assured that he was committed to its sustenance. He also encouraged the state government to always call on the force in times of need.
We are ready to partner on security—Gov. Ahmed
Governor Ahmed in his remark, assured that the state government would always complement efforts of the Federal Government on security matters, saying the Federal Government cannot do it all alone.
He said: “To us in KwaraState, we are quite aware that effective security system is part of our success story so we are ever ready to partner with the stake holders such as Air Force to achieve this set objective.”
The tour also took the Chief of Air Staff to the hangar which is being used for servicing aircraft at Ilorin airport, Gbagaba, Oloje Air Force barracks and Emir’s palace among others places.
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