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For some years now, the federal government has contended with the proliferation of illegal arms and ammunition in the country. Security agencies had made efforts to arrest the situation. But it appears the more the efforts, the worse the situation. Authorities of the police had given orders to mop up these illegal arms. But we have not heard much on punishment for offenders. The situation is such that some non-state actors openly parade arms with impunity these days. Recently, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), Mr. Solomon Arase, regretted this absence of punishment for offenders. “There are no consequences for crimes in Nigeria. People are not arrested for crimes committed. We say unknown gunmen and herdsmen. They are not arrested,” Arase added.
The PSC boss spoke well. The Federal Government is part of the problem. It has recognised and even empowered some of these non-state actors by collaborating with them on some security matters. Some of them parade their AK47 rifles without qualms and nobody has questioned their audacity.
The situation is such that about six million small arms in circulation in Nigeria are in the hands of non-state actors. Last year, the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (retd), supervised the symbolic destruction of over 3,000 illicit small and light weapons and associated materials in Kaduna. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated that about 70 per cent of the 500 million small and light weapons in West Africa were in Nigeria. This figure may even be higher. It is a present danger.
The reasons for the frightening situation are obvious. There are bottled-up grievances across the country. Good governance has eluded us for years. Some people don’t have a sense of belonging anymore. That is partly what causes arms conflict. Until we address these existential problems, there will be violent conflicts and crime which drive acquisition of small arms.
Our porous borders pose the greatest problem. We have security agents along these borders, but, most times, they are compromised. They collect bribes and look away when smugglers bring in contraband into the country. Sometimes, the smugglers enter through bush paths undetected by security agents.
The armed conflict in Libya, propelled by the killing of the country’s long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, worsened the situation. Some weapons used in the conflict later found their way into Nigeria. Also, some of the arms used in the Russia/Ukraine war ended up in the Sahel region of West Africa, including Nigeria. Hence, it is not surprising that bandits in Nigeria today operate with such sophisticated weapons as grenade launchers, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns.
Our security agencies don’t help matters. In 2019, about 178,459 different types of ammunition got missing from the Nigerian police armoury. In an audit report by the Auditor-General of the Federation dated September 15, 2021, it was noted that the missing items included 88,078 AK47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols. The report indicated that there was no formal report on the whereabouts of these weapons.
This is partly why it is difficult to tackle the spate of insecurity in Nigeria. For over two decades, the insurgency in the North-East has remained intractable. Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have continued to export their terrorism to different parts of the North-East and North-West. The North-Central contends with killer herdsmen. In the South-East, the so-called unknown gunmen have continued to terrorise the people. Many have been killed; many others kidnapped and huge ransom taken from them.
To stop the menace, government should come up with stiffer sanctions against those bearing illegal arms. In 2018, the then Inspector-General of Police gave orders to the Commissioners of Police to retrieve illegal arms and ammunition. The mop up operation has not worked. Rather than abate, the problem has exacerbated. Even the Firearms Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 passed by the ninth Senate, which increased the fine and punishment for illegal importation and sale of firearms in Nigeria, has not solved the problem. Government must do something to mop up those arms.
The Central Bank of Nigeria should ensure that the flow of illicit funds or money laundering is curbed by strengthening its monitoring capacity. Financial institutions should share information with security agencies in order to track illicit transactions that lead to the acquisition of small arms.
Security agents should up the ante in their sanctions against circulation and use of illegal weapons across the country. They must police the borders effectively. As Arase has noted, despite the high rate of crime in the United States of America, perpetrators of crimes don’t go scot-free. He called for security sector reforms and intelligence-led policing and deployment of technology for effective crime control in Nigeria. We agree with Arase and wish to add that Nigeria should explore community policing options as well.
