New centre must win the arms war

THE bill for the establishment of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons recently signed by President Bola Tinubu should set the pace for the coordinated, sustained and transparent prosecution of the war against arms proliferation. The new centre should tame the violence, killings, abductions and other crimes associated with guns, and put the country on the path of peace.

 It should be insulated from the bureaucratic bottlenecks that render government agencies ineffective.

Nigeria is burdened the influx of illegal arms and their concomitant fatalities and economic, social and development implications. The Global Terrorism Index lists Nigeria as the eighth most terrorised country in 2024.

The UNODC says Nigeria warehouses 70 per cent of the 500 million of the small arms and light weapons in West Africa. The proliferation has robbed millions of Nigerians of their rights to life.

Citizens have lost property, livelihood and homesteads, including cattle and crops to bandits, especially in the North, and personal businesses. In the South-East, the sit-at-home order is devastating to peace.

Public infrastructure that should stimulate development and shape people’s destinies, including schools, and hospitals have been lost to arms-induced crimes country-wide. Armed felons kidnap schoolchildren regularly.

However, there have been confiscation and destruction of arms by the NCCSALW and relevant agencies. The centre recently retrieved prohibited 544 firearms and 112,500 rounds of cartridges from 10 suspects, courtesy of the Nigeria Customs and Excise. The suspects are on trial.

Additionally, the centre has retrieved 3,383 decommissioned, unserviceable, obsolete and illicit small arms and light weapons and 26,749 calibres of ammunition from government agencies.

Multi-million small and light weapons have been confiscated at the ports in Onne (Port Harcourt), Tin Can/Apapa and Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos. But these are just a flash in the pan compared to the imported and the locally-made weapons in the hands of criminals.

The NCCSALW should champion the culture of accountability and public destruction of illegal arms as is being done in Kenya. It should weave a strategy around transparent and accountable management of arms in the country. Both are some of the critical ways to rid Nigeria of conflicts.

For reasons of corruption, incompetence and opacity, the relevant agencies cannot account for the arms in their possession. The 2019 Auditor-General of the Federation report says about 178,459, of firearms and ammunition, including 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols, were missing from the Nigerian police armoury. This and other cases be thoroughly investigated and the erring officers brought to justice.

The centre should strategically demonstrate leadership, direction and guidance to Customs, Immigration, the police and the military while all the agencies should demonstrate fresh commitment and collaboration to win the war.

The North’s vast borders are no excuses for poor security. The region’s 1,700km shared borders with Niger and Chad are a far cry from the effectively secured 3,145km America-Mexico border. Nigeria’s shorter border should not be less secured.

There should be political will and massive and investment in technology, including drones and helicopters to secure the country. 

Nigeria should enter into bilateral talks with Niger, Chad and other neighbouring countries to check the influx of arms and criminals into the country through the borders and police its borders.

The centre needs to enter into bilateral talks with Turkey and Lebanon, the two major sources of arms importation to Nigeria. Under the late Dora Akunyili, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control made a good success of this option to stop illegal drugs importation.

The declaration of state of emergency at the Onne Port is a welcome development, but the government should demonstrate sufficient political will and commitment to the campaign against arms influx as its success will lead to a lower crime rate.