‘Citizens Must Have Right To Bear Arms For Self-Defense’, Says Ex-Minister Dalung

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has urged the Nigerian government to go beyond the ongoing debate on state policing by enshrining in the constitution the right of citizens to legally bear arms for self-defense.

Dalung, who made the call in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday, said the centralised police system has failed to protect lives and property, leaving ordinary Nigerians vulnerable while emboldening criminals and shielding political elites.

“The debate over the establishment of state police has returned to the constitutional front burner, with arguments being advanced both for and against it,” Dalung wrote.

He noted that while some focus only on the merits and demerits of decentralising policing, the Nigerian security reality has deteriorated beyond such narrow considerations.

“With the collapse and compromise of our existing security architecture, what is urgently needed is not only the creation of state, local government, and community police, but also a constitutional amendment that allows citizens to bear arms legally for self-defense,” the former minister stressed.

He lamented that terrorists, bandits, and violent criminals have easy access to sophisticated weapons, including automatic rifles, rocket launchers, and even drones, while law-abiding citizens remain defenseless.

He also criticised the practice of state governments inviting armed groups to peace meetings where they parade weapons openly before security agencies.

“Today, bandits, terrorists, and violent criminals brazenly wield sophisticated weapons—automatic rifles, hand grenades, rocket launchers, and even drone technology—inflicting untold trauma on innocent and defenseless Nigerians.

“Ironically, these same criminals are accorded celebrity treatment at government-sponsored ‘peace meetings,’ where they appear with their weapons in full view of security agencies, including the military.

“Meanwhile, ordinary citizens cannot keep even a kitchen knife for protection without risking arrest and prosecution. This double standard has left the masses exposed, helpless, and trapped in a system that protects the rich and violent actors while criminalizing the defenseless poor,” he stated.

Dalung argued that the Nigerian security framework was “unjustly skewed against the common people,” emphasising that the current centralised policing system exists more to protect political elites, criminal gangs, and terrorist financiers than the ordinary populace.

Drawing comparisons with the United States, he noted that Nigeria’s presidential system was modeled after the American system, which runs multiple layers of policing at federal, state, county, and city levels, while also recognising the constitutional right of citizens to bear arms.

Dalung accused the opposing reforms of dishonesty and complicity. “Those who oppose state policing and the right of citizens to bear arms are being smartly dishonest with the truth. Many of them are direct beneficiaries of the failed security system, exploiting the chaos for political gain or shielding terrorist financiers who continue to operate with impunity.”

He lamented further that despite repeated calls, government has refused to publish names of terrorism sponsors or prosecute them, further eroding public trust in the state’s willingness to protect its citizens.

He called for a comprehensive constitutional overhaul that would establish state, local government, and community police forces with full authority to carry arms, while also granting responsible citizens the right to legally possess weapons for self-defense.