The Navy at the weekend said it discovered a mini-gun factory in Offa, Offa Local Government Area of Kwara State.

It arrested two suspects, Taofik Salau Toyinbo and Sunday Ogundele, said to be the manufacturer and the buyer.

The Commandant, Navy School of Health Sciences, Offa, Navy Captain Ima Ansa, paraded the suspect at the school premises on Irra Road, Oyun Local Government.

He said: "We arrested the man in a commercial bus coming from Irra, Oyun Local Government, to Offa. He concealed a single barrel gun in a bag. It was during investigation that he revealed to us that he bought the gun in Offa.

"This morning (Saturday), he led us to where he bought it. When we got there, we discovered it is a mini-factory where guns are manufactured. It was there we got the other guns and apprehended the fellow.

"The location in Offa is Ile Abiye Compound, behind Afolabi Hospital. Two suspects have been arrested: the first man and the manufacturer as well as five passengers with the driver of the 18-seater Mazda bus, with registration number XB410AFN.

"The man arrested said he bought the gun five days ago from Offa and took it to Ile-Ife, Osun State. On getting to Ile-Ife, he discovered that the gun was malfunctioning. He was returning the product to the manufacturer when our personnel accosted the bus and apprehended him.

"The manufacturer showed us a document, a licence to repair firearms; it expired 1990. The licence authorised him to repair firearms but not to manufacture same. But he said he repaired and manufactured firearms on demand. He said the minimum cost is N22,000 upon recognition.

"In August, last year, there was a similar incident, when a man concealed two pistols in a laptop bag. We arrested him and handed him over to the police. Now, we are handing over the suspects, the exhibits, the bus and other passengers in the bus to the police for further investigation."

He explained that "because of the security situation in the country, we have strengthened security because this road is more of an access route to Osogbo (Osun State), to forestall all these things".

Ansa added: "We want to assure the community that the Navy, in collaboration with other security agencies, is here to ensure peace and safety of life and property within our area of responsibility."

Toyinbo corroborated the Naval officer's statement.

He said he was lincensed by the Kwara State Police Command and the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to repair locally manufactured guns.