The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, has ordered Commissioners of Police to recover firearms from unauthorized security outfits, including state-owned agencies, nationwide.
The order is contained in a statement signed by Mr Emmanuel Ojukwu, the Police Public Relations Officer, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement explained that the order was aimed at checking violence and criminality in order to ensure peaceful general elections.
The I-G also directed the commissioners to ensure that suspects arrested in connection with illegal possession of arms were prosecuted without delay.
This is in view of reported cases of political violence emanating from illegal use of fire arms by these unlawful outfits’’, he said.
Abba appealed to politicians to abide by rules and assured that all measures put in place to ensure free, fair and credible elections would be implemented to the letter.
He also called on the public to continue to collaborate with the police to fish out criminal elements and report any suspicious movement in their areas.