The Jagunmolu of Somolu/Bariga Kingdom in Lagos, Oba Gbolahan Akanbi Timson, has raised serious concerns over the fate of licensed firearms seized from lawful owners, alleging that many of the weapons collected through an executive order have resurfaced in criminal hands across Lagos and parts of the Southwest.
Speaking at the 2025 Annual Lecture and Awards Ceremony of the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) in Ikeja, Oba Timson, who was the Royal Father of the Day, said that although gun owners complied with the directive to surrender their weapons, the arms were neither returned, destroyed, nor properly accounted for.
According to him, firearms collected from individuals with valid five-year licenses were taken from divisional police offices to state commands, then to the office of the Inspector-General of Police, and eventually transferred to Abuja, a process he described as opaque and troubling.
“Those guns were seized not because they were unlicensed or used to commit crimes, but simply because an executive order was issued,” he said. “Today, some of those guns have found their way back into Lagos in the wrong hands. They were not destroyed, and they were not returned. Yet they are now being used by people who never bought them or held any certification.”
The royal father warned that the circulation of such weapons was worsening insecurity, enabling armed groups in communities to operate with impunity and intimidate residents.
He challenged crime reporters to investigate how licensed arms seized under the executive directive were diverted back into public spaces, insisting that accountability was necessary to curb the rising misuse of firearms.
“When licensed guns taken through official channels begin to appear with criminal elements, insecurity cannot be controlled,” he said. “This is a matter that must be exposed and thoroughly probed.”
Oba Timson further urged journalists to revive the courage and investigative rigour that once defined crime reporting in Nigeria, noting that fearless media scrutiny remains essential to uncovering failures in the country’s security system.
