Delta community lauds police over weapons recovery from militants

<p>Residents of Ekpan community in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State on Friday applauded the police over the recovery of weapons from over 30 militant youths who were said to have voluntarily surrendered their arms and ammunition at the Ekpan Division of the Nigeria Police.</p>, <p>PUNCH Metro gathered that the weapons recovery by the police followed an initiative by the youths leadership and the Divisional Police Command, who championed the campaign for disarmament in the community.</p>, <p>The jubilant residents comprising mostly women and children trooped out to celebrate the recovery of arms and ammunition from over 30 militant youths who voluntarily surrendered at the police.</p>, <p>It was gathered that over 30 guns ranging from AK47, double barrelled guns, and other assorted rifles including G3, FMC, and mostly pump action guns with their ammunition had been recovered by the police in Ekpan Division as of Friday.</p>, <p>It was further gathered that there was a likelihood that more guns would be surrendered by more youths in the community following the truce reportedly by the Ekpan Divisional Police Officer, CSP Aliyu Shaba, after many years of terror reign by the militants who constantly engaged each other in fierce gun battles over the control of the community youth leadership.</p>, <p>One of the community leaders at the popular Ekpan market, Mrs. Grace Amurun, who could not hide her joy over the news of arms surrender by the warring factions, described the development as “a rare feat”.</p>, <p>While commending the initiative of the police division for making it possible, she recalled with nostalgia that youth restiveness and all sorts of violent crimes had been prevalent in the area for years.</p>, <p>She said, “Ekpan, as you are all aware, had been the most troublesome community in Delta State. For some of us who have lived here, we had to sleep every night with our two eyes open, especially in the last 10 years when youth restiveness and all sorts of violent crimes got to their peak.</p>, <p>