Nigeria Hosts Regional Training on Small Arms Identification, Tracing
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has called for stronger regional cooperation and intelligence sharing to combat illicit arms trafficking, warning that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons continues to fuel terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime across Africa.
Disu made the call on Monday while declaring open a five-day Small Arms and Light Weapons Identification and Tracing (SALW-IT) Simulation Programme in Abuja, designed to strengthen participants’ capacity to identify, mark, register and trace illicit firearms, light weapons and ammunition.
The programme, scheduled to run from October 12 to 16, brings together participants from Nigeria, Chad, the Central African Republic, Mali, Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Niger, Libya, Benin and the Republic of the Congo.
The training combines technical sessions with practical exercises, including simulations at the Nigeria Police Simulation Centre, to enhance participants’ professional capacity to investigate arms-related crimes and dismantle trafficking networks.
According to the IGP, effective weapons identification and tracing are critical to uncovering illicit supply routes, identifying trafficking networks and their financiers, and supporting targeted law-enforcement operations against illegal arms flows.
He also underscored the programme’s importance to preparations for Nigeria’s forthcoming elections, noting that disrupting the supply of illicit weapons would help curb electoral violence and intimidation while protecting voters and electoral personnel.
Disu said improved arms-tracing capabilities would strengthen the security environment required for peaceful, free and fair elections.
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To ensure that the benefits extend beyond the programme’s participants, the IGP said the knowledge and skills acquired would be disseminated through structured training and knowledge-sharing across police commands and formations.
He explained that the initiative would improve officers’ capacity to identify and recover weapons, trace their origins, generate actionable intelligence and support routine policing as well as election-security operations.
The police chief further advocated stronger sub-regional and continental collaboration through timely intelligence exchange, coordinated investigations and mutual legal assistance to identify and apprehend suspects involved in transnational crimes.
He stressed that cooperation through established legal and institutional channels was essential to preventing criminal networks from exploiting national borders to evade justice.
Disu also disclosed that police chiefs from West and East African countries would convene to deliberate on common crime-related challenges and develop strategies for addressing cross-border criminal activities.
The proposed engagement, he said, would complement ongoing efforts to strengthen coordinated responses to shared security threats across the continent.
The IGP commended the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), relevant African Union entities and experts from the German Armed Forces Verification Centre for supporting the programme.
He urged participants to exchange practical experiences, build lasting professional relationships and apply the knowledge gained to strengthen law enforcement and arms-control efforts in their respective countries.
Disu reaffirmed the Nigeria Police Force’s commitment to regional and continental initiatives against illicit arms trafficking, pledging sustained institutional support and operational cooperation to translate the training into improved public safety and election security.
By PRNigeria
