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The National Centre of the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) and the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), yesterday, converged on Abuja to address the issue of illicit arms proliferation in the country.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno said the event was part of many multilateral engagements between the government and stakeholders to secure Nigeria from the menace of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW).
Monguno, who was represented by his Special Assistant, Special Duties, Amb. Ahmed Muhammed, said the proliferation of SALW in many regions of West Africa had been a matter of grave concern to countries and regional organisations alike for decades.
Monguno said proliferation of illicit arms had become a major source of insecurity in the society, adding that it had fuelled violent conflict, crime and terrorism.
He said it required no emphasis that the uncontrolled availability of SALW, especially the illicit ones, have continued to undermine global peace and significantly hinder development.
He said the threat and the use of SALW have been directly responsible for much of the untold human suffering in the society.
Monguno said it was on the backdrop of the proliferation of weapons and its attendant consequences that President Muhammadu Buhari authorised the establishment of the centre.
He said the centre was established to serve as the institutional platform to stem the proliferation of small arms within the framework of the various international protocols and instruments to which Nigeria was committed.
He said the president has further demonstrated Nigeria’s commitment to the provisions of Article 24 of the ECOWAS Convention on SALW.
The NSA said the activities of arms manufacturers to keep the security space awash with illicit small arms and light weapons must not be allowed to continue.
He said numerous studies conducted by Small Arms Survey, OXFAM and SBM Intelligence suggested that Nigeria currently accounts for about 60 to 70 per cent of the 10 million illicit weapons believed to be in West Africa. He noted that this was evidenced in the level of armed violence witnessed across Nigeria.
He, therefore, called for the support of CSOs for the government’s avowed commitment to rid the society of illicit weapons.
