Troops of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) have detained 18 soldiers and 15 police officers for allegedly supplying weapons to terrorists and criminal networks across Nigeria. Major General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Theatre Commander for the North-East, disclosed the arrests during a briefing in Maiduguri, revealing they were part of “Operation Snowball”—a crackdown on ammunition racketeering launched in August 2024.
The operation spanned 11 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with suspects apprehended in Bauchi, Benue, Borno, Ebonyi, Enugu, Lagos, Plateau, Kaduna, Rivers, and Taraba. Among those detained were eight civilians and a traditional ruler. Major Ademola Owolana, representing Abubakar, highlighted two high-profile cases: Ameh Raphael, an armourer at the 7th Division Garrison, accused of trafficking since 2018 with ₦45 million in his account, and Seidi Adamu of the 3rd Division Ordinance Services, linked to ₦34 million in illicit funds since 2022.
Investigations further traced ₦135 million through the bank account of Inspector Enoch Ngwa, a police officer arrested for arms trafficking.
