The Organised Crime West African Response to Trafficking, OCWAR-T, an agency of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, has urged the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari to prescribe stiffer penalties on illegal peddlers of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the country.
The Chief of Division Small Arms at the ECOWAS Commission, Nanan Ahoba gave the suggestion during a presentation on the topic, “Strengthening Small Arms Control in Nigeria,“ before the Nigerian technical and Civil Society Partners in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, south-south Nigeria.
Ahoba, who was speaking at a Joint Planning Retreat On Enhancing Small Arms Control in Nigeria, said that with new guidelines insecurity and crimes bedevilling the country and ECOWAS region would be tackled.
“It is only through unity and pooling of resources that threat of arms and human trafficking issues can be addressed.”
According to him, constant surveillance of arms proliferation and vices such as kidnapping, drugs and human trafficking by ECOWAS member states would promote the restoration of peace in the region.
At the end of the retreat, participants in a communique agreed “To facilitate the transformation of the newly created national centre on small arms into full-fledged commission on small arms as well as passage of a Nigeria firearms bill.
“Develop a joint proposal to enhance interventions on SALW control in Nigeria, noting “the continued incidences of arms proliferation fuels terrorism, kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery, communal conflicts, farmer herders clashes, political crisis among others.
“SALW threat poses setbacks to the collective peace, stability and security in the ECOWAS space resulting in widespread destruction of lives and properties,” the participants further agreed.
The resolution reached also noted, “It is more so apparent in the frontline states of Burkina Faso, Niger, Mali and Nigeria where the menace of terrorism, kidnapping and banditry continue to thrive. One of the potent regional responses to these crises was the adoption of ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Materials.”
The retreat participants observed that in June 2006, the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government signed the convention, which became binding on members by September 2009.
They noted that according to the convention, to which Nigeria was a signatory, each member state was mandated to establish a national commission on SALW.
“In this regard, many member states responded positively based on the obligations of article 24 of the Convention except the Gambia and Nigeria.
“The case of Nigeria is uniquely demonstrating high level of political will on the part of the government. But, it is however, inhibited by consistent bureaucratic bottlenecks on the side of those saddle with the tasks of implementing such policies.“
PIAK
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