Nigeria has destroyed 2,800 illicit and decommissioned weapons in a coordinated national exercise, signalling a tightened state response to the proliferation of small arms and the security threats they sustain.
The destruction, conducted at the Muhammadu Buhari Cantonment, Giri, on Friday, 27 March 2026, by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, marks the fifth major disposal exercise since the Centre’s establishment and brings the total number of destroyed weapons to over 16,000 within four years.
Delivering a keynote on behalf of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Director of Defence Affairs at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Major General Hillary Mabeokwu, framed the exercise as a strategic intervention against a growing national vulnerability.
He stated that the proliferation of small arms remains a key driver of terrorism, violent crime, and insecurity, warning that failure to control illicit weapons continues to undermine stability across Nigeria and the wider sub-Saharan region.
The Director-General of the Centre, Johnson Kokumo, said the weapons destroyed were drawn from decommissioned police stockpiles, as well as illicit arms recovered during security operations nationwide.
He explained that the destruction process, through burning and melting, ensures that recovered weapons are permanently removed from circulation, reducing the risk of diversion back into criminal networks.
Kokumo identified three primary sources of illicit arms in Nigeria: cross-border trafficking, local artisanal production, and diversion from government stockpiles. He noted that current interventions are structured to address each pathway through coordinated enforcement and institutional reforms.
The exercise reflects a shift from episodic seizures to systematic disposal and accountability, reinforcing transparency in weapons management and strengthening the evidentiary chain required for prosecution.
Authorities emphasized that the initiative is part of a broader effort to close gaps that enable illicit arms circulation, while improving inter-agency coordination and compliance with international arms control obligations.