Ribadu Warns Illicit Weapons Are Fueling Banditry, Terrorism and Communal Conflicts

ABUJA — National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu has warned that the continued spread of illicit small arms and light weapons is worsening Nigeria’s security challenges, including banditry, terrorism, communal clashes and other violent crimes.

Ribadu spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a workshop focused on lessons from the country’s 2016 National Baseline Survey on Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.

The event was organised by the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).

Representing Ribadu at the workshop, the Director of External Affairs in the Office of the NSA, Solomon Feyintola, said illegal weapons were helping to sustain violent criminal activities across the country.

According to the NSA, illicit arms were fuelling banditry in the North-West and communal and farmer-herder conflicts in the North-Central, while increasing the strength of criminal networks and terrorist and insurgent groups operating in the North-East.

“The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons is not an abstract policy concern. It is a deadly threat to the safety of our people,” Ribadu said.

“Behind every statistic on illicit weapons is a community that has lost its peace, a family that has lost a loved one or a livelihood that has been destroyed,” he added.

Ribadu Demands Reliable Data

Ribadu stressed that Nigeria needed credible and up-to-date data to effectively tackle illicit arms proliferation, rather than relying on estimates.

He said the 2016 baseline survey had provided useful information about the scale and character of the problem and contributed to the formulation of national policies, including the creation of NCCSALW and the development of a National Action Plan.

However, the NSA said the country needed to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the previous exercise before conducting a new survey.

“Before we launch into the next National Baseline Survey, we owe ourselves the discipline of an honest review. What worked? What did not? And what must be done differently this time?” he asked.

He said a credible new baseline would improve Nigeria’s counter-proliferation and disarmament efforts and strengthen security agencies’ capacity to track illegal weapons within the country and across its borders.

Ribadu called for broad participation in the survey, including security agencies, state and local governments, traditional rulers, religious institutions, civil society groups and affected communities.

He also highlighted the importance of international cooperation, particularly technical support from UNODA and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa.

NCCSALW: Security Landscape Has Changed

The Director-General of NCCSALW, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, said Nigeria’s security environment had undergone major changes since the 2016 survey.

He pointed to the emergence of new forms of criminality and changes in weapons trafficking routes and methods as reasons for conducting a fresh national assessment.

Kokumo said the new survey must establish the nature, scale, distribution, sources and drivers of illicit weapons proliferation.

“It must provide an in-depth basis for understanding the evolving small arms and light weapons landscape, identifying priority areas for intervention, strengthening our national risk assessment and supporting evidence-based policy decisions,” he said.

UN: 2016 Data No Longer Enough

Dr Adedeji Ebo, Director/Deputy High Representative of UNODA, said Nigeria could not accurately assess its present security threats by relying on information gathered in 2016.

He said current and reliable data was needed to determine the quantity and types of illicit weapons in circulation, trace trafficking routes and understand the communities and individuals affected.

“Government interventions designed without aggregated and reliable data risk not being deployed in the areas where they are most needed,” Ebo said.

He urged the government to make the new survey rigorous and inclusive and to integrate its findings into Nigeria’s existing arms-control framework.

Ebo also called for traditional and religious leaders, women, young people, farmers, fishers, artisanal producers and survivors of armed violence to participate in the process.

He said the exercise could strengthen Nigeria’s position as a regional centre for illicit arms research, capacity building and training.

Ebo added that UNODA would continue supporting Nigeria beyond the validation of the survey through technical assistance and efforts to turn its findings into practical policies.

Africans Angle News