Police recovered 1,350 firearms in past 7 months

With the sharp rise of violent crimes across Nigeria, obviously comes arms proliferation. From hi-tech guns to local pistols, the number of firearms in circulation is stirring apprehension. By way of an investigation, Daily Trust Saturday takes a look at the worrisome trend. An extensive research on small arms conducted in Adamawa, Anambra, Benue, and Plateau states by Geneva, Switzerland-based National Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey (NSALWS) in 2018, revealed demand and supply factors that shape the deadly market in Nigeria, finding that demand is driven by insecurity and conflict, and also cultural and societal factors. Also, the research identified craft production poses a significant challenge for the Nigerian state and will require a mix of holistic measures to regulate or deter it, ranging from improving security, and the relationship between security providers and communities, to licensing, measures aimed at providing alternative livelihoods for craft producers, and a more comprehensive application of the relevant legal framework.

The work, by Matthias Nowak and André Gsell, researchers for Small Arms Survey, pointed out that building on a long-established and often well-reputed practice, craft producers in Nigeria employ a range of blacksmithing techniques to create weapons that can be up to four times as cheap as their industrially produced counterparts. It explained that categories of craft-produced weapons include self-loading pistols, revolvers, break-action shotguns, revolving-action shotguns, pump-action shotguns, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, and muzzle loaders. The research expressed serious concern that one-fifth of arms are in the possession of civilians. The need for arms has led some residents of Tsauni village in Yankuzo District of Tsafe LGA in Zamfara State, scrambling for locally fabricated guns and an amulet which supposedly makes its wearer impervious to gunshots. Apart from that, there seems to always be incidents where law enforcement agents seize huge caches of weapons, either being transported to undisclosed places, or being imported illegally. Experts told Daily Trust Saturday that although there are numbers attached to the arms recovered from criminals and smugglers, they are far less than those in the hands of unauthorized persons.

Daily Trust Saturday checks showed that from January 2019 to date, security agents seized 138 AK-47 rifles from criminals, with the highest number of 44 in Kaduna, 43 in Katsina, 16 in Adamawa, 11 in the FCT, six in Zamfara, and four in Gombe, among others. Also are 12 seized Pump Action guns with three from Kogi and Rivers states and two each from FCT and Katsina. Furthermore, 14 Beretta and Revolver pistols were seized within the same period with five from Katsina, three in Anambra and Kogi states, two in FCT and one in Ebonyi. Also, 19 locally made pistols have been seized with five in Rivers, three in FCT, two each in Benue, Delta, Imo and Enugu states, with Bauchi, Plateau and Adamawa having one each. But these are the unofficial figures. According to data from the police, they recovered from January this year, 1,350 guns, two rocket launchers, and 23,860 live ammunition. Generally, arms recovered are varied and frightening. They include AK-47 rifles, pump action guns, local and modern pistols, English-made guns, Dane guns, single and double-barrel guns, double barrel shotguns, and LAR rifles among others.

A document titled ‘Arms Trafficking’ by Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), noted that though Nigeria fulfilled international obligations in the ratification of appropriate international conventions regulating the flow and proliferation of weaponry, it has been at the centre of West Africa as one of the major hubs of illicit weaponry trade. According to the document: “Arms trafficking has become a source of concern at the proportion of threatening territorial integrity in light of the insurgency in many parts of the country, especially in the North East Boko Haram-infested areas. The ‘merchants of death’ continue to engage in arms trafficking/ trading through covert means largely aided and abetted by the porous nature of the Nigerian borders with Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.” CISLAC also regretted that there are no dedicated institutions on the subject of the proliferation of weapons in Nigeria or at least dedicated departments within existing law enforcement.

“The only weak structure provided by the ICPC is called the Anti-Corruption Transparency Units (ACTU) to which a desk is domiciled with the Ministry of Defence. Aside this, there is no other. This weak institutional response is inadequate owing to the cadre and low rank of officers charged with the responsibility of managing this desk. Superior officers within the military and police are never challenged on the subject of the management of weaponry and military equipment.

The problem of illegal arms trafficking is aggravated by the weak enforcement of border control.” The organization also said flood of cheap and easy-to-get weapons is for Nigeria very real and extremely high danger and that the cost for Nigeria in terms of human lives lost and property damaged has assumed extraordinary proportions. It remarked that Nigeria scores 149th out of 163 countries in 2017 according to the Global Peace Index and as the 3rd worst country, out of 163 countries, in 2017 in the Global Terrorism Index compiled by Vision for Humanity.

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