it is disturbing to note that security personnel contribute to the current spate of insecurity in Nigeria. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, who made this observation during the recent destruction of over 2,400 firearms by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons in Abuja, regretted that most of the arms used by non-state actors were supplied by police and military personnel. “The worst human being is a policeman or soldier who will take arms from his own formations and sell it or hide it out for the bad people to come and kill his own colleagues,” Ribadu lamented.
Regrettably, this has been happening for some time now. In 2022, the immediate past NSA, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd) supervised the symbolic destruction of over 3,000 illicit small and light weapons and associated materials in Kaduna. Over six million of these illicit arms are said to be in circulation in Nigeria.
In September 2021, the then Auditor-General of the Federation (AuGF), Adolphus Aghughu, reported that about 178,459 different types of firearms and ammunition got missing from the Nigerian police armoury in 2019. Some of the missing items included 88,078 AK47 rifles, 3,907 assorted rifles and pistols. There was no formal report about the whereabouts of these lost weapons; nor was there a presentation of any document relating to the cost of acquisition of the lost firearms for examination. The AuGF attributed these anomalies to the weaknesses in the internal control system at the Nigeria Police Force Armament.
It is worrisome that security operatives who have the responsibility of protecting life and property are the ones selling arms to criminals. This is unacceptable and condemnable. Apart from selling arms to bandits, these fifth columnists also reveal other vital operational strategies to criminals.
This happened in 2014 when the United States and Britain were called to offer assistance to Nigeria in the counter-insurgency war. On account of this, these countries refused to supply sophisticated weapons to Nigeria. Even their pledge to assist Nigeria in the efforts to rescue 276 Chibok schoolgirls, abducted then by Boko Haram terrorists, yielded no fruit as the US officials refused to share vital intelligence with their Nigerian counterparts. Their fear then was that their strategies could be leaked to terrorists.
This is partly why the war against banditry and terrorism is being prolonged. The criminals appear to be having the upper hand. In different parts of the country, bandits and other non-state actors have made life unbearable for the citizens. In the North-East and North-West, terrorists and bandits have killed thousands of innocent citizens. Many others have been kidnapped for ransom. In the North-Central, herdsmen have continued to pose a serious challenge to the security of life and property. In the South-West, South-East and South-South, the story is the same. Gunmen have continued to terrorise people with weapons some of which may have been obtained from security agents. These days, bandits and terrorists, in some cases, use such sophisticated weapons as grenade launchers, anti-aircraft guns and machine guns.
Just recently, a group of gunmen suspected to be cultists attacked Nibo community in Anambra State and killed about 16 people during a traditional festival. Not even soldiers and policemen are spared the onslaught by these terrorists. They routinely ambush and kill Nigerian soldiers and policemen.
This state of affairs presents us as being unserious in the war against terrorists and other criminal elements in the country. It paints the image of the country’s security agencies in bad light and may affect supply of weapons to the country by foreign powers. Besides, the fight against insurgency and other criminal tendencies in the country will be hardly won if this continues.
Despite assurances and directives, the war against criminals has remained intractable. In 2018, the then Inspector-General of Police ordered commissioners of police to mop up illicit firearms and ammunition in the country. So far, this has not yielded much dividend.
The revelation by the NSA is weighty enough and must be thoroughly investigated to unravel those behind the heinous and unpatriotic act. The security agencies could do this by taking inventory of arms in their armoury. They must educate their rank and file on the dangers of selling arms to criminals.
The Federal Government should beam searchlight on security personnel selling arms to criminals by setting up an investigative panel to fish out the culprits and bring them to justice. The matter should not be swept under the carpet and the outcome of the probe must be made public.
There should be periodic auditing of arms in the possession of security agencies. Any missing item should be thoroughly investigated and those responsible for the loss arrested and severely punished according to the laws of our land.