'My SLA was killed like a chicken because he had no gun' - Nwoko says Nigerians should be allowed to carry guns

Ned Nwoko, the lawmaker representing Delta North senatorial district has cited reasons why civilians should own and carry firearms.

The Senator and entrepreneur who has been an advocate for licenses to be granted to regular Nigerians said his Senior Legislative Aide, Chris Agidy would not have been killed like a chicken if he had a gun.

Agidy, a lawyer was reportedly kidnapped along with 19 others in the Galadimawa area of Abuja in November 2023. A resolution was agreed by the Senate after a motion sponsored by Senator Nwoko on the kidnapping and killing of Agidy.

Nwoko has on several occasions spoken up on the need for a legislative reform that gives Nigerians a license to carry arms. Reiterating the need, he told Seun Akinbaloye in a recent interview on the MicOn Podcast that the only thing kidnappers and bandits have over regular Nigerians is their access to guns.

"My senior aide was kidnapped and killed in November. I was told the circumstances the kidnappers went from house to house in his estate in Abuja. My SLA was a lawyer for over 10 years, if a guy like him had a gun, he wouldn't have been picked like a chicken the way he was picked," he said.

"If he had a gun or people in his street had guns they wouldn't have been killed. The only thing the kidnappers had was just guns. The story is the same all over Nigeria, what my bill seeks to do is to allow those who want to have guns to have them. Just because you have a license doesn't mean that you must have a gun."

In February this year, Senator Nwoko once again stepped forward to champion the necessity for civilians to bear arms, following a distressing incident that led to the attack of a GUO Motors bus traveling from Lagos State in the southwest of Nigeria to the southeast.

His tweet indicated kidnappers hijacked the vehicle, leading to the abduction of all passengers onboard.

The driver of the bus lost his life in the attack.

He said in a tweet: “This was reported to have happened to GUO yesterday. They killed the driver, left the small girl there, and kidnapped all the passengers.

“This is the reason for the law on self-defense. If the driver had a gun or any of the passengers, the kidnappers wouldn’t certainly have their way.

“The only thing they have that good and law-abiding citizens don’t have are guns.

“The passengers might never be rescued, and just imagine the poor little girl who will be traumatized for life.