THE recent seizure of assorted arms and ammunition originating from Turkiye by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port in Rivers State, is a confirmation of government’s failure over the years to checkmate the trend of massive importation of illicit weapons into the country. The increasing proliferation of illegal firearms in the hands of non- state actors has become a threat to national sovereignty, as it has emboldened terrorists, kidnappers, insurgents, armed robbers and other criminal elements to continue to undermine Nigeria’s security, spilling blood, as well as disrupting economic and social activities.
The connection between the lingering security challenges confronting the nation and state fragility has long been established. According to Small Arms Survey by a Swiss based non- profit organization, in 2020, Nigeria had an estimated 6.1 million arms in the hands of civilians, excluding those of the military and law enforcement agencies. It means that 3.21 per 100 persons in Nigeria have firearms, whereas 224,200 and 362,400 guns were in the possession of the military and other law enforcement agencies, which is by far the highest number of civilian small arms and light weapons in any African country.
In 2022, the International Action Network on Small Arms and the International Peace Information Service, reported that over six million legal and illicit firearms are in Nigeria and ranked her 16th (the only African country) among the 25 states with the highest firearms possession worldwide. Recently, Africa organized crime index 2023, compiled by Enhancing Africa’s Response to Transnational Organized Crime (Enact) project, ranked Nigeria second, with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) topping the Continental charts when it comes to the scourge of organized crime.
Apart from the Nigeria Customs Service, across the country, state police commands, military units on internal security operations, state and regional security personnel regularly seize firearms and ammunition along with arrest of crime suspects. Bandits, terrorists and gunmen are increasingly in possession of heavier and sophisticated weapons with which they ambush security units. A recent incident was the killing of five soldiers of the Nigerian Army and 11 others injured on May 12, by terrorists who attacked a military camp in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina state.
The importation of illegal arms in the country is disquieting. The country reportedly accounts for 70 percent or 350 million of the 500 million illegal weapons circulation in West Africa. One study puts the number of small arms in the hands of civilians in Nigeria at 6,145,000. The frightening reports portends a serious security challenge to the nation and has contributed a lot to the seemingly intractable insecurity plaguing the nation for more than a decade.
The country’s ports and waterways are easy routes to import and smuggle in arms. They must be well manned and made impenetrable for the influential cartels. We commend the efforts of the Nigeria Customs service for the seizure of illicit arms at Onne Port. The flow of illegal firearms into the country is ominous and requires proactive strategies and intelligence – led operations by patriotic security agents backed by biting legal framework to contain.
Presently, criminal elements who have access to guns have made life unbearable for law abiding citizens. We call on the government to arrest this ugly trend by taking decisive action and order security agents to initiate new strategies to mop up the epidemic of small arms and light weapons across the country, as well as demonstrate the political will to back up whatever law that is made on how to curtail the importation of arms into the country.
We advocate for a holistic efforts geared towards infiltrating the illegal weapons trade in Nigeria to unmask the dealers and patrons to save the country from impending calamity being orchestrated by the mindless bloodletting across the country. Those apprehended should be diligently prosecuted to send a strong warning to aspiring arms importers and smugglers that the government would no longer tolerate merchants of death who want to turn the country into a killing field.
We urge the government to show commitment in the consideration of alleged reports that some security agents aid and abet the illegal arms dealers and ensure that those found culpable are made to face the full wrath of the law to serve as deterrent to would – be collaborators. There is also the need to collaborate with neighbouring countries to checkmate the proliferation of illicit arms.
