National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has described the spread of illegal small arms and light weapons as a major cause of insecurity, banditry, terrorism and communal violence across Nigeria.
Ribadu made the statement on Thursday in Abuja at a workshop reviewing lessons from Nigeria’s 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
He said illegal weapons were helping to sustain violent crimes in different parts of the country, including banditry in the North-West, farmer-herder and communal conflicts in the North-Central, and terrorism and insurgency 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 said.
“Behind every statistic on illicit weapons is a community that has lost its peace, a family that has lost a loved one or a livelihood that has been destroyed.”
Ribadu said Nigeria needed reliable and up-to-date data to tackle the problem effectively rather than depending on estimates.
He said the 2016 survey had provided useful information about the scale and nature of illegal arms circulation and helped shape government policies, including the creation of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons and the development of a National Action Plan.
However, he said the country should first review the previous survey before conducting 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 asked.
Ribadu said a new and credible survey would help security agencies track illegal weapons within Nigeria and across its borders, while also improving efforts to control arms and support disarmament.
He called for security agencies, governments at all levels, traditional and religious leaders, civil society groups and local communities to participate in the exercise.
National Centre for Control of Small Arns and Light Weapon’s Director-General, DIG Johnson Kokumo (retd), said Nigeria’s security situation had changed significantly since the 2016 survey.
He said new forms of crime had emerged and trafficking routes had changed, making updated information necessary.
Kokumo said the new survey should provide details on the scale, sources, distribution and causes of illegal arms proliferation.
UNODA Director and Deputy High Representative, Dr Adedeji Ebo, said Nigeria could not properly assess its current security challenges using 2016 data alone.
He said reliable information was needed to determine the types and number of illegal weapons in circulation, identify trafficking routes and understand their impact on communities.
“Government interventions designed without aggregated and reliable data risk not being deployed in the areas where they are most needed,” Ebo said.
He urged the government to make the new survey comprehensive and inclusive, with the participation of traditional and religious leaders, women, young people, farmers, fishers, artisans and survivors of armed violence.
