Babagana Zulum, Governor of Borno State, has instructed the immediate suspension of a French non-governmental organisation, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development (ACTED), in the state over an alleged firearm training.
The directive was announced in a statement issued by Isa Gusau, the governor’s spokesperson, on Saturday.
According to Gusau, the French NGO was discovered to be using a hotel in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to train some aid workers on shooting.
The governor’s spokesperson explained that residents near the hotel had reported to officials that they were hearing gunshot sounds from the hotel, following which government officials reported the matter to the GRA Divisional Police Headquarters, which oversees the hotel’s location.
The statement noted that toy guns and simulators used in training exercises were discovered at a hotel located off the Circular Road in Maiduguri.
Two trainers, both Nigerians, were arrested by the police at the hotel.
The governor subsequently directed the sealing of the hotel and ACTED’s suspension from any humanitarian activity in the state, Gusau said.
Gusau said Governor Zulum “acknowledges and deeply appreciates the roles of credible NGOs which have been providing critical humanitarian interventions in different parts of Borno”.
“He assured them of the government’s continued cooperation and support while also upholding obedience to prevailing laws, policies and rules guiding all activities and actions across the state,” the statement partly read.
However, two ACTED workers arrested by the police, Chinedu Charles and Abdullahi Mustapha, during interrogation said they were using the toy guns to rehearse for a drama in which they were to act as Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) members.
“I came out of the hotel with a gun held up in the air and within three minutes, the whole place was filled with people. The gun was a toy gun. We were using it for rehearsal. We were to act as Civilian JTF members in the drama,” Charles told the police.
On his own part“The guns are toy guns. One of them was even broken. Women and children started running when they saw the guns. Our officers are French and they were there with us.”
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