National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has identified the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons as a major factor fuelling insecurity, banditry, terrorism and communal violence across Nigeria.
Ribadu stated this on Thursday in Abuja at a workshop on lessons learned from Nigeria’s 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons, organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).
Represented by the Director of External Affairs in the Office of the NSA, Solomon Feyintola, Ribadu said illegal weapons were sustaining violent criminal activities in different parts of the country.
He said they were contributing to banditry in the North-West, communal and farmer-herder conflicts in the North-Central, and strengthening criminal networks as well as terrorist and insurgent groups in the North-East.
“The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons is not an abstract policy concern. It is a deadly threat to the safety of our people.”
Ribadu stressed that behind the statistics on illicit weapons were communities that had lost their peace, families that had lost loved ones and livelihoods that had been destroyed.
The NSA said Nigeria’s response to the problem must be based on credible and current data rather than estimates.
He recalled that the 2016 National Baseline Survey provided important information about the scale and nature of illicit weapons proliferation and contributed to the creation of the NCCSALW and the development of a National Action Plan.
However, Ribadu said Nigeria must first conduct an honest assessment of the previous survey before embarking on a new one.
“Before we launch into the next National Baseline Survey, we owe ourselves the discipline of an honest review. What worked? What did not? And what must be done differently this time?”
He said a credible new baseline survey would strengthen efforts to combat illicit arms proliferation, improve counter-proliferation and disarmament strategies and help security agencies track illegal weapons within Nigeria and across its borders.
Ribadu called for the participation of security agencies, state and local governments, traditional and religious institutions, civil society organisations and communities in the proposed survey.
He also stressed the importance of international cooperation, particularly technical support from UNODA and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa.
The NSA expressed confidence that the workshop would produce practical lessons from the 2016 survey and a clear roadmap for a new national assessment.
NCCSALW Calls for Updated Data
The Director-General of NCCSALW, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, said Nigeria’s security environment had changed significantly since the last baseline survey.
He noted that new forms of criminality had emerged and trafficking routes and methods had evolved, making updated information necessary.
Kokumo said the new survey should provide detailed information on the nature, scale, distribution, sources and drivers of illicit weapons proliferation.
“It must provide an in-depth basis for understanding the evolving small arms and light weapons landscape, identifying priority areas for intervention, strengthening our national risk assessment and supporting evidence-based policy decisions.”
UN Calls for Rigorous Survey
Also speaking, Dr Adedeji Ebo, Director/Deputy High Representative of UNODA, said Nigeria could not effectively assess its current security challenges using data from 2016 alone.
He said reliable data was needed to determine the number and types of illicit weapons in circulation, identify trafficking routes and understand who possessed the weapons and how communities were being affected.
“Government interventions designed without aggregated and reliable data risk not being deployed in the areas where they are most needed,” Ebo said.
He urged Nigeria to ensure that the new survey was rigorous, inclusive and integrated into the country’s existing arms-control framework.
Ebo also called for the participation of traditional and religious leaders, women, youths, farmers, fishers, artisanal producers and survivors of armed violence.
He said the exercise could further position Nigeria as a regional centre for research, capacity building and training on illicit arms control.
UNODA, he added, remained committed to supporting Nigeria beyond the validation of the survey through technical assistance and efforts to translate its findings into effective policies.
Source: National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW)
