The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has said that controlling illicit arms proliferation would lead to total defeat of terrorists in the country.
He called for concerted action amongst the government, international community and all well-meaning Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the country.
Ribadu spoke at the public destruction of 3,867 illicitly acquired decommissioned and unserviceable small arms and light weapons, at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment in Giri, Abuja, on Thursday.
The exercise, conducted by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW), was the fourth destruction exercise held by the centre since its establishment in 2021.
The NSA represented by his Special Adviser on Governance and Subnational Liaison, Mr. Asishana Okauru, said proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW) constitutes a huge threat to national security, which has become a key driver of violent conflict, crimes and terrorism within and beyond Nigeria’s borders.
According to the NSA, the failure of the global community to effectively control the availability of illicit SALW has continued to undermine global peace and significantly hinder development, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
“We recognise the complexity of the challenges of controlling the proliferation of SALW in Nigeria and the requirement for concerted action amongst the government, international community and all well-meaning Civil Society Organisations,” he said.
“Nonetheless, we are resolved to galvanise our strengths and unity as a nation to confront these monstrous challenges and I am optimistic that we shall surmount them.”
Ribadu noted that the establishment of the NCCSALW in 2021 was a historic step towards addressing the problem of small arms proliferation through an institutional platform that would structurally address all underlying contributors to national security threat within international protocols.
He said the signing of the Small Arms and Light Weapons Act 2024 by President Bola Tinubu further demonstrated Nigeria’s commitment to putting end to illicit arms in the country.
He said: “The public destruction of illicitly acquired decommissioned and unserviceable small arms and light weapons today is a reminder to all Nigerians of our collective responsibility to support the Government and by extension the security agencies in our fight to defeat criminality, terrorism, banditry and all other forms of behaviours that threaten our national interest and socio-economic wellbeing.
“It is a clarion call to reclaim our security space and restore our nation to the path of peace, security and development. We, as patriotic citizens must stand up to be counted at this time by providing information to the security agencies and we must trust the Government to bring the state’s authority to bear in ensuring that all Nigerians, wherever they may reside, enjoy the peace and security that they truly deserve.
“The Federal Government is also taking firm steps through relevant Ministries and Government Agencies to tighten domestic controls to prevent and reduce the flow of SALW into illegal hands who are working to undermine our security.”
The NSA commended the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons for this milestone achievement within the short time of its establishment.
“I am sure that given the time and the necessary support, the National Centre will successfully deliver on its mandate of significantly eradicating illicit SALW from our society,” Ribadu said.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NCCSALW, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, said the arms destruction exercise was the fourth in a series of what has now become routine in the centre’s illicit weapons reduction strategy.
“Today, a total of quantity 3,867 different types and calibres of SALW would be destroyed by initial burning process and subsequently, smelting of the remnant metal parts.
“It is pertinent to state that the National Centre has in its custody some recovered/captured illicit SALW still undergoing tracing as well as investigations and legal processes.
“These include the illicit weapons smuggled into the Country and intercepted at Onne Port and NAHCO shed at the Murtala Mohammed Airport Lagos by the Nigeria Customs Service.
“These categories of weapons would be destroyed on completion of the proceedings during subsequent routine destruction exercises,” he said.
Kokumo said the exercise highlights the dangers of excess, poorly secured, and illegal weapons as well as the importance of small arms destruction as a vital measure to reduce the proliferation and misuse of firearms.
According to him, it also underscores the Nigerian Government’s commitment to transparent documentation and destruction of decommissioned, unserviceable, captured, surrendered and recovered illicit firearms.
This, he said, is in line with the provisions of Article 17 of the ECOWAS Convention on SALW and the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in SALW.
The NCCSALW boss said the centre would continue to push in the direction with a view to generating ingenious strategies to reduce, if not completely eradicate, the availability of illicit arms in the society.
He expressed appreciation to the Service Chiefs and heads of other arms-bearing security and intelligence services for releasing the recovered weapons for the destruction exercises.
“I am rest assured of your continued support to the Centre as we work together towards our shared vision of an illicit arms-free society,” he added.
