Nigeria, March 30 -- Fresh accounts have challenged the police's claim that a village head in Akwa Ibom was arrested following a tip-off, with a local government council chairman and rights groups insisting he had earlier reported the rifle and was waiting for the police to retrieve it.

The police command in Akwa Ibom had announced on 25 March the arrest of Edet Okon, village head of Asiak Obufa in Effiat community, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, over alleged illegal possession of an AK-47 rifle.

Timfon John, the police spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, stated in a statement that operatives acted on a tip-off, thereby making it appear as though the village was unlawfully armed.

She added that the arrest aimed to determine the source ...