The United
Nations, UN, has raised alarm over the rate of illicit proliferation of
Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in Nigeria, with over 350 million of
the estimated 500 million of such weapons, amounting to 70 percent,
said to be circulating in the West African region domiciled in the
country.
The director of United Nations Regional
Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), Ms. Olatokunbo Ige,
gave this startling statistics at the ongoing National Consultation on
Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM) in Abuja, organised by
the Agency and Presidential Committee on Smalls Arms and Light Weapons
(PRESCOM).
Ige said that the country is awash with
illicit weapons, which have found its way into unauthorised hands on
non-state actors that are threatening the existence of the country, as
well lives and properties of the people.
“The illicit proliferation of SALW has
had a dramatic impact on peace and security in Africa, threatening not
only the existence of the state, but also the livelihoods of millions of
people across the continent,” she said.
“Nigerian is one of the countries that
is experiencing some of the most devastating effects of the
proliferation of SALW as a result of spill over effect of the recent
crises in Libya, and Mali as well as unresolved internal conflicts in
different parts of the country especially in the North East, Niger Delta
and Southern regions.”
“While reliable data on the numbers of
these weapons circulating freely in the country is unavailable, analysts
have in recent times estimated that of the about 500 million weapons
that may be circulating in West Africa in 2010, some 70 per cent of
these could be found in Nigeria,” she added.
She warned that “as alarming as these
figures seem, it is very clear that if left unchecked, this scourge will
not only jeopardise the developmental gains achieved over the last 50
years, but will also impede the nation’s capacity to achieve its
developmental targets and therefore, negatively impact on the future
generations”.
According to Ige, this has highlighted,
more than ever before the critical need not only to control the flow of
arms in the non-state sector, but also the state owned actors through
the effective management of the armoury and weapon stockpiles.
“It is widely acknowledged that one the
major factors contributing to the illicit proliferation of arms is the
ineffective stockpile management,” she noted.
The UNREC boss stressed that unsecured
stocks and ineffectively managed stockpiles are a major contributing
factor to the trafficking and diversion of arms into the illicit market
and their subsequent flow to the terrorists and other criminal groups
like Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants.
She said that part of the activities
programmed under the PSSM in the Sahel project in the context of the UN
and European Union, EU, is to support security and stability in the
region.
Ige explained that the project, which is
funded by the EU has been developed jointly by the United Nations
Office of Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) for the benefit of the six Sahel
countries of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Nigeria.
“This project aims to support states in
the region to prevent diversion and trafficking of SALW and their
ammunition, by improving the PSSM of national stockpiles,” she stated.
Also speaking, the Chairman of PRESCOM,
Emmanuel Imohe, said that the Nigeria’s Firearms law is obsolete and
ineffective in the face of the 21st century security challenges.
Imohe said that PRESCOM has to generate a
new document in collaboration with relevant agencies for over six
months to come out with a repeal of the firearms bill that is yet to be
attended at the National Assembly.
“The 1959 Firearms Act is obsolete and
using the 1959 law to tackle the 21st century security challenges is
ineffective,” he said.
In the same vein, the Resident
Coordinator of the UN Systems in Nigeria, Ms. Jean Gough, said that “the
elaboration of laws and procedures which are adapted to the current
reality, aiming to provide the necessary framework to better prevent the
occurrence of eventual theft, loss, diversion and explosions in
national weapons and ammunition storage has become an essential
requirement.
“Through the provision of technical
assistance and the necessary resources to this effect, technical and
financial partners have committed to support the beneficiary member
states of this project in this endeavour.”
Gough however noted that the major
challenges in the fight against the illegal and abusive use of SALW
remains the issue of the illicit transfer of such weapons to non-state
actors, including among others, armed groups, terrorists and criminals.
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