The Nigeria Police Force and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) have pledged stronger institutional collaboration to curb the proliferation of illicit arms fueling terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes across Nigeria and the West African region.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu, at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, Director-General of the Centre, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, described the spread of illegal weapons as a major driver of insecurity, stressing that tackling the menace requires sustained inter-agency cooperation, intelligence sharing, armoury accountability and joint operations.
“My purpose, and of course the purpose of my team for coming here, is to seek ways to strengthen institutional collaboration and chart a path for joint action against illicit arms proliferation,” he said.
“It is incontrovertible that the proliferation of illicit arms and ammunition in Nigeria and terrorism, violent extremism and violent crimes are intertwined. They are inseparable. It is the availability of illicit weapons that encourages violent extremism and all forms of violent crimes.”
Kokumo noted that the Centre, now backed by an Act signed into law on June 4, 2024, has intensified efforts to retrieve and destroy obsolete and illicit weapons to prevent them from finding their way back into criminal circulation.
According to him, the Centre has destroyed more than 16,000 obsolete, unserviceable, and decommissioned weapons since its establishment.
“We are happy to say before the Inspector-General of Police that the Nigerian Police Force supplied the Centre a total of 11,907 illicit, unserviceable, obsolete and decommissioned weapons. Out of these, 8,438 are automatic weapons while 3,489 are locally fabricated weapons,” he disclosed.
Kokumo identified Nigeria’s porous borders, diversion of weapons from government armouries and local artisanal gun production as the three major sources of illicit arms proliferation.
“We are looking at collaboration in the areas of armoury discipline and accountability, intelligence sharing, prosecution and training. We want a structured and sustained collaboration rather than ad hoc engagement,” he said.
He also highlighted the Centre’s recent investigation into a shipment of illicit weapons intercepted at Onne Port in Rivers State, noting that collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force Interpol Unit helped identify suspects and their foreign collaborators.
Responding, Inspector-General of Police Olatunji Disu welcomed the proposal, describing collaboration between the police and the centre as “a done deal”.
“The Nigerian Police, being the number one internal security agency and being present everywhere in the nation, have access to the people and to all kinds of arms—illicit, manufactured, stolen, anyone you can think about,” Disu said.
Commending the Centre’s training programmes on armoury management, the police chief said improved weapons security would reduce the diversion of firearms into criminal hands.
“Our shared mission is to ensure recovered arms are never recirculated back into society. Every arm discovered, every arm destroyed, makes my job as a police officer easier. It is a joint mission.”
Disu stressed the need for real-time intelligence sharing among security agencies, warning that illicit weapons continue to move across Nigeria through roads, waterways and poorly secured borders.
“Intelligence sharing is going to real-time intelligence sharing so that we can quickly nip it in the bud. Arms are moving everywhere in the country, and timely intelligence will help solve this inflow of arms.”
The Inspector-General also expressed concern over the growing sophistication of locally manufactured firearms, revealing that some are almost indistinguishable from imported assault rifles.
“As police officers, we recover arms that we sometimes find difficult to identify because they look almost exactly like imported weapons. Some locally made firearms even carry serial numbers. We must clamp down on those manufacturing these weapons.”
He further acknowledged that some security personnel have been implicated in illegal arms diversion, emphasising the need for tighter armoury oversight.
“We need to look at our armouries and those managing them. I will not lie to you, once in a while, officers of various agencies have been involved in the sale of illegal arms. We must strengthen accountability.”
The IGP also called for expanded public awareness campaigns and voluntary surrender programmes for illegal firearms, particularly as preparations begin ahead of future elections.
“We have started recovering illegal arms from people not authorised to possess them. As we move closer to the elections, the operation will become more tenacious. Surrender and recovery of weapons is a programme we should undertake jointly.”
