FG TO CONDUCT FRESH NATIONAL SURVEY ON ILLICIT ARMS
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By; Aina Daniel
The Federal Government is set to conduct a new National Baseline Survey on illicit small arms and light weapons, 10 years after the country’s first exercise in 2016.
The plan was announced on Wednesday in Abuja during a one-day workshop organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons to review lessons from the 2016 survey.
Representing the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Director of External Affairs at the Office of the NSA, Solomon Fehintola, said the proliferation of illicit weapons remained a major driver of insecurity across the country.
He linked the circulation of illegal arms to banditry in the North-West, farmer-herder conflicts in the North-Central, urban criminal activities and terrorism in the North-East.
Ribadu said the government could no longer rely on outdated information to address the threat, stressing that security policies must be based on accurate and current data.
He described a credible national baseline as an important security tool that would help authorities track the movement of illicit weapons, strengthen counter-proliferation measures and improve disarmament efforts.
The NSA also called for a comprehensive approach involving security agencies, state and local governments, traditional and religious leaders, civil society organisations and affected communities.
Also speaking, the Deputy High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, Adedeji Ebo, said the 2016 data was no longer adequate for assessing Nigeria’s current security situation.
Ebo stressed the need for the new survey to include information from communities, arguing that traditional and religious leaders, farmers, youth groups, women’s organisations and survivors of armed violence possess valuable knowledge that may not be captured in official records.
The Director-General of the NCCSALW, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, said Nigeria’s security landscape had changed significantly since the first survey.
He noted that new forms of criminality had emerged, while trafficking routes and methods had evolved, making it necessary to reassess the country’s illicit weapons situation.
Kokumo added that the 2016 survey played a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s small arms control policies, including the establishment of the NCCSALW and the development of a National Action Plan on small arms control.
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