The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has identified the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons as a major factor sustaining banditry, terrorism and communal violence in Nigeria.
Ribadu stated this on Thursday in Abuja at a one-day workshop on lessons learnt from the 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
The workshop was organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, NCCSALW, in partnership with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, UNODA.
Represented by the Director, External Affairs, Office of the NSA, Solomon Feyintola, Ribadu said illicit weapons also fuel organised crime and strengthen the operational capacity of terrorist groups.
He described the proliferation of illicit weapons as “a deadly threat to the safety of our people.”
“It sustains banditry in the North-West, fuels communal and farmer-herder conflicts across the North-Central, arms criminal networks in our cities and sustains the operational capacity of terrorist and insurgent groups in the North-East,” he said.
Ribadu said the 2016 baseline survey provided Nigeria with a comprehensive picture of the scale and nature of illicit weapons proliferation and contributed to the establishment of the NCCSALW and the National Action Plan.
He, however, called for a critical review of the methodology, coordination and implementation challenges of the 2016 exercise before a new survey is conducted.
“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 asked.
The NSA urged government agencies, state and local authorities, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and communities to work together in tackling arms proliferation.
Earlier, the Director-General of NCCSALW, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, said Nigeria’s security situation had changed significantly since the 2016 survey.
He said emerging forms of criminality and changing trafficking routes made a fresh assessment necessary.
According to him, the new survey must establish the nature, scale, distribution and sources of illicit weapons to support evidence-based security policies.
Also speaking, UNODA Director/Deputy High Representative, Dr Adedeji Ebo, said Nigeria could not effectively assess its current security threats using data from 2016.
“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 is rigorous and inclusive, with women, youths, farmers, traditional and religious leaders and survivors of armed violence contributing to the process.
Ebo said the exercise could also position Nigeria as a regional centre for arms research, capacity building and training in Africa.
NAN
