The Nigerian military has revealed that suspects arrested at illegal weapon manufacturing factories in Plateau State confessed to producing and selling locally fabricated firearms to Fulani militias because the armed groups paid more than other buyers, exposing what security authorities described as a major driver of the state's lingering violence.
The disclosure was made by the Chief of Staff, Operation Enduring Peace (OPSH), Brigadier General Selong Sule, in Jos on behalf of the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 3 Division and Commander of Operation Enduring Peace, Major General Folusho Oyinlola.
According to Sule, intelligence-led operations by troops recently uncovered and dismantled several clandestine arms production facilities operating across Plateau State.
"We have a lot of illegal weapon manufacturing factories. Recently, based on intelligence, we discovered and busted about three or four of such factories," he said.
The senior military officer disclosed that interrogations of suspects yielded disturbing confessions about the destination of the weapons they produced.
