Tackling the Illegal Proliferation of Firearms, by Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi

Tackling the Illegal Proliferation of Firearms

By MUKHTAR Ya’u Madobi

The illegal circulation of firearms in the hands of non-state actors has been a global phenomenon among several nations of the world.

No doubt, these weapons empower criminals, disrupt communities, and create a climate of fear thereby leading to armed robbery, kidnapping, terrorism, and inter-communal violence. This cycle of violence not only inflicts a devastating human cost but also discourages investment and stifles economic growth.

A report by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey noted that out of the total 10 million illegal Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) circulating in Africa, Nigeria plays host to not less than 1 million of them.

This worrisome development is not unconnected to the past and ongoing conflicts in West, Central and North African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, Chad, Niger, Mali and Libya. Apart from arms proliferation, these conflicts equally lead to a surge in the number and dispersion of terrorists within the region.

In Nigeria, the proliferation of SALWs aids non-state actors including Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, bandits ad and militants to continue wreaking havoc. It is gratifying that Nigeria has already implemented several strategies for monitoring their flow and use to take the rising tides.

According to the National Center for Control of Small and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), a regulatory body established in May 2021 by the Nigerian government to address illegal weapons circulation among citizens, out of the seven million illegally held assault rifles and other small arms across the West African region, Boko Haram and ISWAP in the Lake Chad area, have about one percent of that total.

Domiciled under the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), the NCCSALW operates in a similar way to the counter-terrorism center and the cybersecurity center, both of which are domiciled under the ONSA.

The Centre is responsible for controlling the proliferation of SALWs in Nigeria, implementing strategies, plans and policies for the eradication of firearms, as well as supervising the implementation of same by relevant government bodies. Also, it creates and maintains a SALWs register and a national database; receives reports on firearms registration from the Nigeria Police and updates the database with such information.

In addition, it also registers, stores and destroys firearms and ammunition possessed illegally by security agencies, criminals and other non-state actors, and equally maintains a database of registered firearms dealers in Nigeria among others.

Furthermore, the center will be responsible for updating and transmitting the national database to the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In its relations with these inter-governmental bodies, the National Centre will identify legitimate national defense and security needs and obtain the required exemptions from certain international protocols, to meet these needs. The National Centre is also empowered to carry out public education and awareness at national, state and local levels, to involve Nigerians in the efforts to control the proliferation of small arms and light weapons.

Meanwhile, the national coordinator of security, NSA Malam Nuhu Ribadu emphasized that the federal government has made significant strides over the last months in restraining the illegal circulation of firearms. According to him, the efforts have been yielding positive results thereby making it difficult for non-state actors to acquire weapons.

“For example, the AK-47 rifle, which used to be sold for less than N500,000 last year but now goes for N5 million,” Ribadu said.

This development clearly shows that criminals are now finding it very difficult to acquire weapons due to the high increase in the cost of procuring them.

Malam Ribadu also added that over the past months, Nigeria’s security agencies recovered and destroyed over 5,000 military-grade rifles and intercepted over 20 gun-running networks, just to mention but a few.

As part of the measures to ensure uniform and adequate regulatory policy in the fight against the proliferation of SALWs, the ONSA has recently directed the nationwide dismantling of all illegal security outfits hiding under the umbrella of curtailing weapons trafficking.

Recall that in 2021, ONSA equally ordered the dismantling of an illegal security outfit, called the NATFORCE which was involved in extorting and harassing Nigerians using arms flow regulations as a pretext.

Now rebranded as NATCOM according to ONSA, the organization has now reared its ugly head to continue sabotaging government efforts and this necessitated the ONSA to quickly issue a circular to sensitize the public to avoid becoming victims.

A statement issued by the Head of Strategic Communication Office of the NSA, Zakari Mijinyawa emphasized that NATFORCE and its rebranded format NATCOM are not part of Nigeria’s security architecture. These outfits are not backed by federal law and did not get approval to operate as security organizations such rendered them incapable of recruiting, or executing any function.

It is good to note that curtailing the spread of arms and ammunition among non-state actors in Nigeria is tantamount to ridding the country of insurgency, terrorism and other forms of crimes which is among the top priorities of the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

This requires a holistic and whole-of-society approach where different stakeholders join forces to navigate around the issue and come up with feasible solutions.

In his part, the National Coordinator, National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Major General Adamu Garba Laka has expressed the need for unwavering dedication and collective action of all in the fight against terrorism and organized crimes. This is necessary to secure durable peace and a haven for the citizenry to thrive well in their environments.

According to retired General Laka, in Nigeria, as in many other nations around the globe, the fight against terrorism and organized crime presents multifaceted challenges that demand our unwavering dedication and collective action.

Mukhtar Ya’u Madobi, an NDA research student, is the author of “National Security Strategies: A Young Writer’s Perspective.” Email: [email protected]