Akwa Ibom filmmakers have rejected police’s assertion that Ejike Hector, a props man, is a welder specializing in the manufacture and sale of firearms to criminals.

Emmanuel Owuala, former Chairman of Actors Guild of Nigeria, Akwa Ibom chapter, and Special Adviser to Akwa Ibom State Governor on Talent Hunt, told FIJ that the police arrested Hector on Monday as he was going to a filming location with firearms, and that the guns were not real weapons which could fire bullets.

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“Hiring gun props from the police is often expensive. The cost is often higher than the cost of the movie. Therefore, filmmakers are taking the option of making their own. Hector is one of us who fabricates guns, and he is very good at his job. The guns found with him were in no way real,” Emmanuel said.

He also said that Hector was well-known in the movie industry and had neither a doubtful character nor a criminal record. Owuala said that he had known the accused for more than a decade and could vouch for him.

On Tuesday, September 14, Akwa Ibom Police Command had paraded Ejike Hector as a criminal. In a press statement, SP MacDon Odiko, Akwa Ibom State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, said “eight (8) locally fabricated AK47 Rifles, one (1) Pump Action, one (1) pistol and six (6) dane guns” were recovered from him upon arrest.

Odiko also said the welder fabricated and sold those guns to criminals who used them to rob and terrorise innocent people in the state.

Shella Michael, an acquaintance of Hector who also works in the film industry, told FIJ she had known Hector for two years and had never heard any link between him and criminal groups.

“Everybody knows Hector. He’s our props guy. I don’t know why the police are saying he is connected to thieves,” she said.

Owoala said the state’s film makers were in talks with the police to free Hector.

“We went to the police and we have been talking to them. The police are right and are doing their job. If Hector had his licence on him, they might not have arrested him,” he said.

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However, Odiko said that possession of fabricated weapons, whether real or not, is the same as possession of fake currency.

“People in the society do not know the difference between the real one and the fabricated one. We are not saying he is not a prop maker, but why was he moving with it at that time? Given the state of security in the country, the police should have been notified.”

When questioned further on whether a permit is needed to move around with props, he declined to comment.