06 July 2018•Update: 06 July 2018
By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria
Nigeria on Friday slapped a three-count charge of unlawful possession of firearms on a former governor who security operatives alleged may be complicit in herder-farmer violence in the agrarian belt.
Gabriel Suswam -- the former governor of Benue state, where hundreds have died in the violence -- was arrested last month and detained in connection to unlawful arms possession and the violence, according to local media reports.
He was arraigned on Friday in the Nigerian capital Abuja, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Nigeria’s secret police had raided a property allegedly linked to the former governor where operatives discovered a large cache of weapons, leading to his arrest.
Channels TV, a local private outlet, said items recovered during the raid included a glock pistol with two magazines and a total of 29 rounds of ammunition, a mini-uzi with two magazines containing 10 rounds and four rounds respectively, 42 extra rounds of ammunition contained in a pack, and one AK-47.
