NATCOM To Clamp Down Importers, Sellers Of Light Weapons, Ammunitions

The National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Pipeline Vandalism (NATCOM), has vowed to embark on a massive campaign to clampdown on sellers, importers, and hoarders of light weapons, ammunition, and chemical weapons in the next 100 days.

The NATCOM Council of Commandants had passed a vote of no confidence on the former director general of the commission, Baba Mohammed following allegations of misconduct, and immediately ratified the appointment of Otumba Adejare Adegbenro as the new acting director general.

The acting director general of the commission, Adegbenro while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Saturday, after his appointment as the new head of the commission, said they will also embark on the creation of 7000 jobs in each state of Nigeria, as its contribution towards curbing youth restiveness.

He explained that their core mandate is to stop the importation of illegal arms, ammunition, and chemical weapons, which means that they have to go down even to the fishermen in each state, from the lowest level to the highest level to make sure that they comply with the ECOWAS treaty which Nigeria is a signatory to in 2006.

According to him, this is to make sure that all these ammunitions coming into the country through the borders, and seas are stopped, and that they will also ensure that they do their best to work with other agencies to know where these leakages are coming from.

“So, we are going to make sure that in the next 100 days, we make a lot of seizures from importers, sellers, hoarders that hold all these weapons, we are going to go on a massive campaign to clampdown and work with other agencies to make sure we achieve this. I will not say it is going to be an easy job, but we will succeed because I am a goal-getter,” he noted.

The NATCOM boss further said that the Commission is in tandem with the ECOWAS Commission which is to battle against the importation of illegal arms ammunition, small weapons, and chemical weapons.

“The commission is meant to work together with other ECOWAS member states. We are suffering insecurity in Nigeria because of this illegal importation of arms and ammunition which in collaboration with other states in ECOWAS to work together to minimise or eradicate the importation of these weapons.

“It will be nice for the new government to embrace us, and give us all the necessary backing including the National Assembly. We have a lot of youths out there yearning for jobs, so, in the 100 days of President Bola Tinubu, we want to make sure that we employ at least 7000 youths from each state in Nigeria, that takes unemployment out of the window,” he added.

He, therefore prayed that President Tinubu will put a quick assent to the Commission’s bill so that they can deliver on their mandate.